Promises are all I have
by Last Harlequin
Summary: after Pandora, after everything. she was left with a promise and a burden. one she will never relinquish unless she can set things right. SqFu in the future! Rated for Language and adult themes
1. Promises, Promises

Disclaimer: I do not own FF despite my own wishes and I deal with it...

this is a trail, I have written sad stuff before but I preffer to take this... in a new direction. I am hopeing for 2 reviews by ch 3. Flames are welcomed and summerialy ignored Reviewers earn mentions. it's all I've got to offer.

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Some things, life, existence, pain. These are universal, no one can escape them. Some however are destined from the moment they first draw breath to endure more pain than any human being should. Eyes burning with hate only really hide the pain until someone asks the right question… and sometimes the person is the one human being you never expected.

**"Fu…. Heh… we've had a good run… I guess…." **The beaten and bloody knight grinned upward at her even as blood dripped from his nose, and his mouth. He tried to lift a hand to lay it on her once more but the exertion only surged his mind with pain. No denying, this is it. He raised his eyes to look into her crimson orb her face contorted in pain holding back, biting into her bottom lip. The tears welled up and overflowed obscuring her vision of the once-proud warrior his blade fallen and his glory dead she held his head on her lap. She stroked his hair and did nod shallowly.

**"no regrets Fu… remember that…"** the words ended in a sputtering cough as blood sprayed from his slowly filling lungs. He lay breathing as deeply as he could her sobs barely audible.

"Won't die…." Was all she could think of to say, her voice broken, no trace of the power she once wielded with impunity all that remained was a scared little girl and a dying friend.

**"I know I'm done for…. There is one thing I want you… to do…"** he paused, swallowing a pool of his own coppery life that had collected in the back of his throat. She listened intently, hanging on his every broken strained syllable.

**"Tell them I'm sorry… I see now…. What I've done"** he was tearing himself. He still tried to smile, she nearly broke in two but nodded again her clothes drenched in his blood she spoke so quietly she was not even sure she heard it "anything…"

**"Do what I should have done… carry our spirits and."** he paused to cough and wince from the pain it caused. **"...Try to make it…."** The breath left him even as he fought it out he looked up at her and she was forced to watch, the one moment, that final step into death. She watched the spark of life leave him, and she cried, she cried until she was sure there was nothing left wet in her, until all her pain rose into her throat and stole her voice, she cried for her Friends…

"For you." she laid head onto the grass in the wreckage of Pandora and lifted her darker skinned compatriot and pulled him alongside their leader and taking a fragment of steel began to dig twin holes, shallow but enough. She pulled them both up and into the divots. She was bathed in sweat as she covered them and sat in the grass, looking at the two mounds contemplatively. She stood and raised Hyperion and tied it to her own back with her brother's rod and taking her pinwheel in hand, began to walk, she knew only one place she could go now... she had a promise to fulfill.

both of them who had died defending a knight, but even a knight may fail, not all fairy tales have happy endings….


	2. The Long Walk

Disclaimer: I do not own FF, but if I did the story would be less predictable, you all know it.

Anyway, second day, second chapter

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One foot in front of the other she had walked for weeks, killing animals and eating roots for food, she was even thinner now as she walked across the Esther landscape, slowly. She knew she could not go to that city…. She would never survive… after all that had happened in the last few weeks her entire body felt like it was about to come unstitched and fall apart. The pain was bearable physically but her soul was aflame. She fingered the trailing edge of the blade on her back as she walked, her top long ago abandoned to the heat she was sure she smelled foul… but there was naught she could do. Just one foot in front of the other. She mused about it all, what would she do… I mean, there was no way they would let her back. No how…. Not after what they had done… but… her promise… she had to go through with it. 

She stood a little straighter wearing only her pants boots and bra she was still hot, her pale skin burned badly she suspected. She felt tingly; it had been a while since she had last found fresh water…. And she was running out of water spells…. It was not looking good. All she could do was trudge and hope through the quiet and strange surroundings. Right to the chameleonic barrier and through it and the Great Salt lake, sooner than she could think of she was standing at the edge of the tracks out into the ocean, she fell to her knees… she Could do it…. No use giving up now… she collected herself slowly, tightened her belt against her grumbling stomach and pressed forward with the tenacity only the Silver haired woman could portray. Thought trains formed however running the different likely scenarios, and tell the truth none looked well. Getting anywhere near the garden would be hard enough let alone infiltrating close enough to one of their old classmates and then rises the problem of getting them to listen... this began to become more and more difficult with each added level of obstacles, but she would find a way. She had managed to survive Lunatic Pandora she could gain entry to one little building. Yeah and while she was dreaming she wanted a new eye patch encrusted with gems.

One step at a time she told herself the first was reaching the mainland and to that she had to get across the railroad bridge... To Fisherman's Horizon. Thunder crashed out in the distance dark clouds gathering... just great...

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A/N: I have a review already! Yay! I promise it will get more interesting as the story develops... as for length there is only so much I can talk about between the major events. Sorry! 


	3. Thunderheads and Anger

Disclaimer: I do not Own FF. much as it would be fun

okay, shooting for one more review per chapter one review and I will chuck out a chapter ASAP

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The Howling winds and beating rain, the platform slick under her feet as the deluge continued, and her without even a shirt on her back. The storm seemed to be endless, just dropping more and more rain and lightning onto the disgruntled, wet, disheartened Fujin. This was worse than the desert at least there you occasionally found a tree to block out the sun. This blasted railway however… dammit all. She sighed and kept her head down holding onto their weapons as she continued her drudging toward the great metal bowl of FH. Again her mind wandered back to her fallen comrades and a tear fell from her eye mixing with the rain as she looked into the storm her hair firmly plastered to her face, at least it did something to soothe her sunburns, that's right look at the positives. With another deep breath she picked up the pace but her tolerance was slowly running thin for all of this… this…. Hellish Nightmare. However all she could do was march on like the soldier she was trained to be.

"I am not out of touch." He couldn't help fighting the notion that had been proposed by his friend, "I was simply trying to be impartial, do what is best for the Garden. I am not cold." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself…. He drew a sigh and let it float away into the dark room. Some things change. But her up and leaving like that… he reached into the side table and pulled out the envelope that had been fixed ot his door and opened it again flicking on the light to read it:

" Dearest Friends, I have felt that somehow a lot of this was my fault, that I am to blame for what has happened. I know you would fight this, but that is exactly why I feel I should leave. I have gone to reconcile what has happened with myself, I am not sure when or if I will return.signed, Riona"

Ultimacia…… dead…. Time compression reversed. The world has been saved. So why does it all feel so… unfinished, it has been a week and already things are getting strange. Balmb Garden now rests next to Winhill, quiet and secluded. The commander is assuming his new station well, The rest of the team is slowly settling into their new duties as instructors and SEED. The most interesting of which had to be Zell, everyone thought he would take so well to doing nothing but almost immediately, he had signed up and taken teaching examination to become a weapons trainer. Selphie and Irvine… well they had gotten close, rumors spread but it was really nothing. Riona…. Well, she had gone the way of the Dodo. After all that had happened… she just left. Squall found a note on his door that just told him she was leaving, after everything she had lost her nerve… it was the first time anyone had seen Squall lose his cool. And probably the last, he was getting cold… colder than usual. He had grown more and more distance after she left. It has only been four days but he just seems a little out of touch….

he growled and then let his arms drop, he was laying on his bed and dropped the letter back into the drawer and closed it and threw an arm over his face. "why'd you do that Riona…." He couldn't answer that question and he knew it, he just wished she would have talked to him first.

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end notes: 3 chapters in three days, hope I can keep this up, but now I am waiting on Reviews, reviews chapters, more reviews, I'll be more inclined to make it a longer better chapter, schedual permitting. 

I started to write this on a whim, I know it will be a romance, it will be something new. and it involves my favorite Female charactor with her stunning white hair and Gorgeous Red eye... R&R


	4. thinking mood

Disclaimer: bah. yada yada yada square yada yada. done.

well to clear up alittle something amung my readers, I have been getting questions about Riona, as far as I know she will not even show up in this story. because I don't like her.

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The commander sat on a bench in the main hall, they had been on the move, with a request for SeeD assistance made four hours ago they were settling about 1000 clicks south of Winhill where a large group of raiders were harassing the townsfolk, the pay was small, meager really, but as Cid had made exceptions in the past. As acting commander and temporary headmaster Squall felt he had the power to do so now, after Cid had left with his beloved to live away from the stress for a time, just as well. It was turning him white about the crown. The brunette officer sat on the bench dodging his work for the time being, it just got to the point of tediousness, but he did a lot of delegating. He had given most of the base stuff to Xu and she took the lead particularly easily, all he really had to do was make the big decisions such as clientele and protocol, as well as issues of discipline. The new disciplinary committee did much of that for itself, the gap had filled rather quickly, much to his surprise, it was a few students five in all, rather rough and tumble, but not nearly as bad as the previous, and did their jobs so he had no objections. He just looked out into space thinking about pointless pursuits and minor distractions, it seemed the longer he thought about it, the less it mattered. He took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"Commander, Please report to the Bridge, Commander to the Bridge" the intercom wailed as he sighed angrily and stood making his way grumpily toward the elevator.

She stood at the outskirts of the bowl, burned in some places but she could ignore that. More importantly, she was exhausted after a whole night of rain and thunder she nearly collapsed with ever step, fighting for every movement her muscles resisted and screamed at her. She supposed she deserved the admonishment it had been two days without any food and hardly any rest at all, but sucking in another breath she pushed in she got a little weaker. It was getting harder and harder to see straight. Slowly something came into view as she stumbled the last few steps and dropped off into exhaustion even as someone looked out of their cottage.

Her sleep was long and dreamless she was enjoying it only to be rudely awakened by a number of voices. She sat up, to the amazement of the four people in the small house. They all pondered the curious woman, who found a new white shirt covering her top not that she minded really… she turned her Stifling red eye on them with a cold expression that made them all cringe a bit despite her obviously near helpless she still had a helluva glare.

"LOCATION?"

The woman stepped up a bit at the urgeing to the others and took a deep breath, "your in Fisherman's Horizon dear. you'll be stayin' until your strength returns" she said in a patronizing motherly kind of way that had the odd effect of letting the slight sunburned woman to soften a little bit then cringe as the sheer weight of soreness her body had accumulated. She slowly fell back down with a sigh as the woman came up and after a moment's hesitation laid a hand on her forehead for a moment.

"well at least you don't have a fever. Now then how about something to e-"

her sentence interrupted by the woman's growling stomache she blushed her face contorted in embarrassed anger and displeasure as the woman chuckled.

"…to eat, seems you do."

The woman walked off to whip something up for the frail looking woman who irritably pushed her lengthening silver locks out of her eye and adjusted her patch. Well, at least she got where she was going…. Even though she wished it had been more gracefully. She breathed deeply of the sea air and sighed long and softly letting sleep come back to her, first checkpoint reached.

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A/N: sorry for the slow update speed I've been in a funk. well here is a little more I am planning on bringing it together in the next chapter so please do not pester me. 


	5. Big Break

At least the soup is good…. Too bad everything else seems so horribly screwed up… she sighed under the illusions of blowing on the piping hot stew and slowly eating savoring the hearty flavor, she hadn't realized, it must have been four days since she had eaten anything. Well, after this was done she would have to move on again, but that seemed rather hopeless at this point with the garden mobile it could be anywhere…

"so dear where ya comein from all bared and burned 'n such?" The woman asked from the nearby stove hoping to discover something about her mysterious houseguest.

Well… she couldn't very well admit to being the renowned Knight's friend, she might as well put the gun to her own head…. Well, one other answer wasn't exactly lying…

"Garden" she muttered but the sharp old woman paused for a bare moment and then resumed what she was doing. Fujin mulled her thoughts turning them over repeatedly, planning and deliberating with herself, she had been the brains of the posse and that was not for just anything. But sadly her options were very limited in a number of respects.

"Garden you say? That wouldn't happen to be Balamb garden would it? They stop around here often…" the woman's words tapered off in her mind after that as she marveled at this realization, but it made sense, many great mechanics were here meaning that whenever garden came to damage they would return here for a look over… Bingo.

"Frequency?" she asked turning her head from the empty cup, watching the woman with a glare that gave her Goosebumps, she had to think about it however, it was not an everyday thing but it did happen rather often.

"about every month or so I suppose, sometimes more if something happens, a gear slips or something goes haywire, it is an old system you know." She answered as completely as possible but it was difficult to say.

"Last Arrival?" Fujin was beginning to get excited this may be her first big break, Garden came here often, it couldn't be more than thirty days, this was perfect, she almost smiled but she thought hard then…. How in hell's name was she planning to get inside? There were only three ways in and none particularly easy to access from the ground, and she definitely couldn't go traipsing inside out of nowhere she would be gunned down right there in the hallway. She brooded, and was thinking so hard and so fast she almost missed the response.

"about a month ago now that I think about it…. They should be returning rather soon. Maybe as early as tomorrow." That, is was you call, Dumb Luck.

"and so, in light of all the training and budgeting and this and that not to mention repair bills and supply costs…" Selphie prattled off numbers, figures, math, and all sorts of things he only began to grasp, but as acting Headmaster/Commander he was required to approve any budget costs and all major curriculum changes…. What a boring job. They were sitting in the converted office that had been a classroom once since Cid's office was now the bridge. However, it was fine because it was Zell's class and they met in the Training center anyway. It was sparse, but he had managed to give it an air of authority, featuring a picture of Cid as the founder and various awards and commendations from different countries and towns that had asked for SeeD assistance since it's founding. It really was rather stuffy, but he put up with the pretentiousness on the grounds that he met with Clientele here and it needed to endow a certain amount of respect and awe. He had almost dozed off when she began to wrap up.

"so, to conclude I think we need to make a small cut to the Apparel and Dress budgets to allocate additional funding into the training budget. Okay?" she ended on her little musical note she always did and he took a deep breath looking at the neatly organized and stamped papers trying to seem like he understood a word of it.

"sounds alright to me, no complaints, get it done ASAP." His words were quick and quit as ever but she nodded and smiled gathering up everything and moving off to set it in motion, he just spun around to face the extended window that looked out to the sea they were now crossing to FH…. He really had to admit he liked that place. He knew where he could be alone, sometimes he even took some time to sit and chat with Martine, he let himself smile when he thought of the calming breeze and cool air, it was probably the only nice thing he did for himself anymore. He had a feeling it would be a quiet week.


	6. Stealth

Disclaimer: Ditto.

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Two days, it has been two days, wandering FH, waiting, watching. She hated waiting, despite the necessity for now she had a certainty, a near perfect plan, all she had to do was wait to set it into motion. She played the entire plan over and over, fine tuning and setting herself for the necessary actions, she had made sure she was recovered physically and made a more secure harness for Hyperion and her brother's Bo staff, all she had to do now was put it all in motion…. She would not have too long to wait.

Squall stood on the overlook, peering out into the ocean as the town came into view over the sparkling sea; he had already cleared his schedule of all major appointments for the next three days. They would perform a complete diagnostic and all he had to do was nothing. He let himself smile into the wind, it was a warm day with a cooling breeze, a good time for anything especially a time spent at nothing. Doing nothing, what a refreshing concept. Another deep breath and a sigh as he leaned on the railing somewhere behind him he heard the door open and inwardly cursed, turning slowly he was met with the face of Quistis. Could have been worse, could be Zell. He watched as the lithe woman walked up to him in her street clothes calm as ever and trimmed to the perfection she demanded of herself he waited for her to speak first.

"I thought I would find you here Commander. I just wanted to ask you a question" he mulled over the request for a moment before considering her again as she shifted nervously from foot to foot. She looked distracted which was unusual but hardly an issue, as a precaution he gave all none essential staff the time off so they would be out of the way during the checkup, it was the best excuse he could come up with to ditch the whole place.

"go ahead Quistis….. and call me Squall." He got really sick of hearing commander all the time, just because he was the best man for the job didn't mean he had to like it. He awaited her supposed little question but was only really half there half of him had already disappeared to his spot in FH where the garden had yet to find him.

"I was just wondering if we couldn't just take the team out and maybe have dinner and reminisce a little, never forget and all that?" he just knew this was Selphie's idea…. It stunk of the little preppy girl's scheming. However, he would rather be doing other things but he could only dodge her for so long…

"fine, what did you have in mind then?" he spoke in a semi-monotone, mind being elsewhere, especially the growing city on the horizon, slowly roused to activity as the monstrous building moved in to dock against the crane as it had in times past. Slowly pulling to a stop before them as the engineers started toward them.

"good! I'll update you ASAP." She turned and disappeared back inside, to inform the giddy selphie no doubt. He sighed and turned to greet the engineers as they came about, thirty in all. He greeted them as they came and once they had past he made no great hurry of descending to the ground beneath and out into the town swiftly heading down the bowl and to the other side of the mayor's place. He had found this place a few trips back, it was hidden by the mayoral building but still had a great view of the sky. He was unsurprised to find the Ex- Galbanian headmaster sitting back sipping at a whiskey sour, he was rough about the chin and wearing loose clothing but it was certainly him. The headmaster had taken to a simpler existence after a time realizing things were not going to return to how they were and so he had taken to the easy life of fishing in the FH area with a few other boys sharing stories and drinks, he seemed to enjoy it enough.

"good afternoon commander." The old headmaster still had that unerring edge of military discipline to him as he stiffly offered a handshake rising to meet Squall, their handshakes were about the most formal they got, neither preferring to make a bit deal of the other's situation. It was quiet and pleasant, he had left his radio on though, he didn't want to miss the page from Quistis and have to listen to the lecture about responsibility afterward. He sat down as Martine poured Squall a simple juice cocktail, not being much of a drinker. They sat in silence enjoying the squawks of seagulls and the blue sky that stretched forever….

she was sitting under the main structure in a crouch leaning against the I beam behind her for balance as Garden came to a rest, this was it, she could see a loose panel ahead of her and she jumped, hanging in the warm air for but a moment before stealthily unscrewing the panel and slipping into the duct, she knew this from her childhood at the garden, it was one of the primary ducts and it would bring her to the bowels of garden. Perfect. She crept into it, secured the panel behind her somewhat, and crawled on adjusting her effects a bit. She was dressed in civilian clothes, a simple white shirt and her own pants, washed and cleaned to satisfaction. She moved slowly, trying to remain as quiet as she could before dropping into the deeper mechanical section of the garden, she fell with the grace of a cat and looked around analyzing everything she saw almost mechanically. She was in main engineering, the main drives for the garden movers, she had always wondered what they did, now she knew, how useful… she walked along the catwalks slowly pulling herself into another duct going up from the AC system the cold air was next to frigid but it was better than hot. She worked slowly up the near vertical work and came to rest in near silence except her pounding heart and throbbing limbs, who knew that sword was so heavy… she looked out a vent into the garden, she was over the parking garage. Since they were no longer on the ground, there was hardly a need so they had converted it into storage, she nodded, and that would be the best place to hide out until they got moving again, no matter how long the wait. She pried open the latch on the duct and slowly dropped behind a few boxes in a crouch and set about finding a secure location to hide away until such time. Settling in for the long haul, she let herself smile, stage two complete.

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A/N: well it seems I have one fan, and thank you very much. I too have a yearning to see more of our Albino girl. I think she is actually very underrated as a charactor, I can't help but feel that somewhere in that firebrand soul of hers is an untapped potential, and I hope to maybe touch on that in the story, especially since I am finally getting around to haveing the meeting, next chapter at soonest, the chapter after at latest by my estimation. Also before I get ANY complaints from diehard fans YES I am takeing artistic liscence with a lot of this, because I can so don't start with me. it's less drastic than the constant gay Irvine pairings I keep seeing, now THAT is a strech. as always R&R, what are you still reading this, I am not even saying anything anymore, blah blah blah blah blah ... Fin. 


	7. Confrontations

Disclaimer: Blah Blah Blah, yeah yeah I don't own it or it would be written to include this part too. heh.

Note: it has come to my attension that my POV deviders did not Transfer onto FF, I apologize here and will not let it continue, so help me. &8& :will now be used to indicate POV change. I apologize.

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He sighed deeply as he walked back to the cold hard structure of garden with his normal proper outside but inside he was dreading it. He disliked his job… it was so, well, boring. The commander however could not simply go out on missions leaving the garden without a leader so he has to sit behind his stuff desk in his stuffy office glaring a hole in flawlessly finished wood. If it were not for these checkups he would never get out anymore, it was ridiculous. Well it had to be done, duty is duty. Not that the rational answer helped his boredom any he was already the best card player in the garden if not the world at this point, so scratch that as a time passer, the training grounds swarmed with Zell's trainees battling all but "Big T" as Zell called the massive beasts, throwbacks to the late Jurassic. God, anything would be welcome at this point. Even another Sorceress, hyne forbid, but still. Anything to break the monotony. 

&8&

They had finally started moving…. Two days she had hid in the toasty storage area, she was jarred awake by the abrupt motion as a box containing mostly plastic utensils tumbled on her head, she had to bit her tongue to keep from yelping, the last thing she wanted was too be caught now, after all that. She crept from her hiding spot, cautiously using a small piece of metal to check for anyone, more wary than ever of errant sounds, only once had someone come in so far and that was a couple… She was covering her ears, it didn't get dirty but damn kids were loud. She slowly made her way to the door and checked it…. Good, curfew was already in effect, seems they wanted to start out ASAP, good enough for her. She crept out of the door and inched along the wall, ahead of her she could see one of the infamous garden faculty, formidable maybe, but she knew she was better. Her movements were slow, Deliberate. She took each step like a cat, even with the bulky weapons ion her back she slipped right up behind him nice and careful. He never knew what hit him. She pounced drawing her arm across his throat and tugging hard as she stifled his airway, she held on for all she was worth as he slowly, agonizingly sunk to the floor and into unconsciousness. He was a big boy, he was. She dragged him backward into the garage and field stripped him, he was a few sizes larger than her but she knew enough to compensate, cinching everything a little higher and a tab bit baggier before hiding him and slipping back out to stand in his place, right in the center of the hall, hidden in plain sight. She grinned to herself, she could not have asked for a better disguise, and with the real guy bound, gagged and stuffed into what had been her hiding place, it would take them some time to find him. All she had to do now was find the commander, who she was certain was her man.

&8&

he was seated behind his desk in his "new office" and poured over the paperwork for another assignment, and damned if it weren't a good one, they had not even had ragnorak return with the Winhill team yet and now they were receiving a request calling for a great number of SeeD to assist in quenching a rebellion in Galbania…. It NEVER ENDS.

He sighed deeply again and pushed it all to the side and turned in his chair to look out the window, just staring out into the Blue. The first thing to go was the Work at hand, letting that drift out and vanish. Next, went the Winhill mission, and all it's quagmires. Finally vanished all the money and protocol and everything that ever reminded him of Work. That left him with something he had almost forgot completely about, and found himself wishing he had. Riona….. Why did you do that, why did you just leave….. he sighed looking out but seeing nothing, his mind consumed with the smile that had taken him, what felt like centuries ago. He missed her. Dammit, he missed her, her laugh, her smile, her damned sunny disposition. The way her hair flung around her when she walked away… he just couldn't escape the images, he leaned onto his hands and closed his eyes in silent mourning, dry cold and quiet, like everything he did…

Somewhere behind him, he head the door open, and he rose in his seat andf turned slowly, seeing a garden Faculty member, he inwardly sighed, more trouble…

"yes what is it?" he waved the faculty in and found himself only half focused on their approach, he was so damned distracted, he missed a number of important details….

&8&

There…. She had to slow her breating and force herself calm, she was so close, but now things became complicated, how was she going to do anything without immediately revealing herself… Trouble. She marveled he missed the missing inches and the strange protuberance of the weapons she carried on her back even as she approached to within arms reach of the desk. He looked up, his face expectant, she began to tense, it was do or die. Dammit move! She forced herself forward in a blur of motion she pulled away the cap, revealing herself even as she dropped to the ground in front of his desk, it was all she could think of to do, all she could do to keep from crying at the memories his face evoked. She dropped even as the robes firmly outlined the Bo and Blade on her back, her pinwheel at her hip, she just stayed there, silent, eyes shut tight as she blurted one word, one that echoed not only in her mind, but his as well.

"FORGIVENESS!"

&8&

his mind was milling as the person stood there, he was slowly growing annoyed, then, the blur of motion, and his eyes laid upon a face…. A dead face…. She was dead, they had died with Pandora, hadn't they? As she came down he leapt to his feet as she dropped to the ground, her single word burning and echoing in his mind. Forgiveness? For who? Herself? Were the others alive as well? Somewhere out there? What was her reason for coming here, how did she get aboard undetected? All these questions and so many more swirled violently in his mind as he stood paralyzed, even as she was.

For many moments neither moved, both wondering and pondering, even as two more Garden Faculty members burst in ready for battle

"Commander!?" They both paused as she rose and looked back, dumbstruck, unlike the commander however, they did not hesitate. She was grabbed roughly by both shoulders and wrists and her arms bent forcibly behind her back as she was forced into the floor, her weapons stripped from her, the two stating in unison as they produced a set of cuffs from under their robes and applied them fiercely.

"Fugitive Fujin Laskota, You are under arrest for Treason, you will be jailed and detained until your date of trial, come peacefully and you will not be harmed." The Commander could do nothing, could say nothing so struck was he, so completely mentally assaulted by the events unfolding before him. Finally, as she was raised struggling to her feet he found his strength.

"Wait! Belay that!" Both members turned still holding her in a vice grip they turned and he came forward. "I will take personal responsibility for her, dismissed." He said with his regained finality, both could do nothing but step back and walk outside the door closing it behind them securely as he stood facing her down, she was still cuffed as he walked behind his desk and sat down nodding to the chair in front of it. She hesitated, then took the seat and he paused to think, to collect before opening his eyes he didn't remember closing and considering the disheveled young woman before him, his former classmate, his former enemy.

"…..Why did you come here?" his eyes locked to her Red orb as she sat in silence for a number of moments.

"PROMISE."

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A/N: well, there, they finally come face to face, I wrote this in a fury, I hope it came out as well as I think it did. So much to do, so little time... 

This time I would like to acknowledge the poeple that drive me to Write, the Fans. Varientskies, griever-gurl, Mare-Mare and you to Camille. Thank you for your support in my endeavor, I hope you continue to enjoy it. now, as for me, I am fighting with insomnia and I feel as though I may actally be able to go to sleep tonight, I hope it is the case... I need it, good night.


	8. Thank You

Disclaimer: I do not own FFVIII or any of the charactors presented therein, nor do I own rights to the names Squall Fujin Siefer, or the names of any of the Squarenix charactos represented, I do not have the permission of Square to write this story and I recieve no profit from it's distribution, are you rreally still reading this, I have one question, why?

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He listened, and hung on every word, simple sentence she spoke, conveying her meaning in the shortest terms possible. It was a slow process as she began to have to pause every few words to compose herself as she was reaching the current events he had sat stock-still. His mind reeled with what he heard it blew his mind what he was hearing…. What the man he had considered his enemy had said… and the feelings insinuated behind that. He felt his chest get a bit tight, his eyes focusing painfully into her head, her eye closed and diverted, he guessed she must be ashamed at her capture, it hardly mattered…. This changed a lot, and it brought something to him he had not expected, Sympathy. There was no way he would allow it to show, he could not conceive of the idea, but it was there boring into his soul, all he did was take a deep breath and continue to absorb her words. He began to pick things up slowly, her inflection showed over the seeming monotone and her slight body movements filled in the subjective matter she relayed as though merely giving a report. He sat nearly as motionless as her, leaning forward on his hands elbows on his desk, waiting as she seemed to be wrapping up. 

"I understand."

She just nodded; well, she had been speaking for a solid hour now, definitely more words than he had ever heard her speak at one time. She had only ever spoke in single words or phrases at their longest. He had to sit up and lean back in his chair still serious, not taking his eyes from her as he did so. He took a few long moments to soak in the information and consider his words very carefully.

"it is my decision as Headmaster and Commander of Balamb Garden to allow you to stay here, you will be tried for your crimes, obviously. However, in light of the current situation I suspect we can be lenient." He thought he botched it by the stern look on her face that merely nodded once, always business first.

&8&

She told him everything, all that had happened since they had again found Siefer and joined him, every once of information, and she just watched the stoic, cool face of the leader, she was growing more and more sore of the throat but spoke every relevant detail until the present, everything. She had bared her soul as best she knew how, and now she could only wait as she watched his eyes bristle with thought and emotion, slowly she became nervous…. .what would he do now…. She bit her bottom lip discreetly as he sat up and stared at her hard, she could feel panic rise, her stomach churned and rippled despite being empty and her mind raced but on the outside she remained her cold calm self stoic and silent as always.

When he spoke she braced for the worst she tensed for the blow that was sure to come… had he said what she thought she had heard? Could that even be possible coming from the pragmatic and by-the-book Squall she had known… she stared openly and uncharacteristically showing disbelief but she swiftly composed herself and nodded slowly still a little startled, truly an uncomfortable feeling.

&8&

He saw that incredulous stare cross her face in that split moment and he knew he had hit the mark, one internal pat on the back later he leaned back in.

"We will find out if you are truly as reformed as you claim to be. Naturally you will kept apart as you can guess, we have work to be done everywhere." He swiftly had realized that coming out and telling everyone was strictly out of the question, they would mob and she would be lynched in the quad. He was hoping that this would solve the problem at least temporarily. This would be truly tricky business. He would have to prepare the Garden and gauge the reactions beforehand with his current knowledge, this was going to be interesting… but in the meantime he had to think of something to do with her between now and then. There was a long road ahead.

He reached to the speaker on the desk and depressed a button, then letting go waiting for the come back

"yes sir?" he depressed the button again "I would like you to come in here, I have special plans for this." "yes sir."

The two Garden Faculty from earlier entered and took up stance at either side of Fujin, she looked nervously from one to the other covertly and took a deep breath. Squall sat up, put on his strongest face and spoke in his most assured tones again donning the mantel of leader.

"she is to be treated as a guest, however, keep her away from the Students. I fear they may act brashly if allowed to know that thier _Former_ enemy is on board" he took great pain to stress the word former to them.

"otherwise she is to be made comfortable, short of giveing her weapons. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir." The faculty members both bowed slightly at the waist and the neck.

&8&

She was awestruck, he was going to let her stay? that was the last thing she expected, she was truely relieved when the cuffs were removed, she was feeling herself overcome from the inside at the unexpected result, it was beyond her hopes that she would be she could not say anything at first but after a moment of simply stanidng there silent like some sort of mechanical warrior, she found it in her to speak.

"Thank You."

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A/N: Thank you again to my Loyal Reviewers, Varientskies (with all my other stories so dark and serious I figure I need a little WAFF now and then), Mare-Mare (I have no idea which lines you are talking about, Please tell me, you have me a little wierded out!) . Seriously, I feel guilty about going more than two days without SOMETHING. god .> how pathetic am I man... ::mumble mumble:: Well, I'm better than those authers who make thier fans wait a month in between chapters right? heh... I hope I am.  



	9. Beyond Belief

Disclaimer: You get the idea.

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She was trying to breath smoothly but it was becoming difficult she was a little choked up, still slightly in disbelief. Well, it had gone much better than she expected, though not the best possible scenario… (she subconsciously entertained visions of crowds gathering to cheer her back as she rode into the garden in a long blue hummer limo, sporting that diamond encrusted eye patch she had fantasized about a while back) she caught herself in a smirk, if the minute upturn of the lips could be construed as a smirk. She looked between the identically dressed faculty members flanking her on three sides paces matched to hers perfectly keeping a roughly 1 meter circle around her leading her in a completely impersonal manner, as was demanded.

They came into the Separate Dormitory area reserved for guests of the garden. The door itself was plain as any, just the simple sliding doors and marked with the number 2304, the member, she was just going to call them all Pat, just so she would have Something to call the faceless, nameless lackeys. She let herself get that smirk again. The door slid back and a thought crossed her mind, she had never seen the kind of accommodations that were given to SeeD, let alone Diplomats and Clientele… well best time is the present. She looked up and her jaw damned near dropped off her face.

The room was at least 10mX15m it was huge, with a queen sized bed, the entire room was done in dark blues and sky that was the theme in the garden it seemed. The posts of the bed were ornate long poles meticulously carved and had long dragons curling around them to croon into the air their small wings flared out in high glory. the carpet was a rich Blue, unblemished and waving like the ocean itself. Across the spacious apartment was windows covering the wall, letting her see the dark ocean they now crossed, the glass was crystal clear and went nearly wall to wall. The lighting in the room was provided by a hanging chandelier the small crystals setting the room in their soft light dim enough to not hurt the eyes, but still pleasantly illuminate everything. She spied two doors, one likely a closet the other had to be a bathroom, one miracle at a time. She noticed the mirror next it was attached to an old wooden desk, finely lacquered and set in dark mahogany it was a work of art, the lamp was an ordinary desk lamp, paling in comparison to the splendor of the rest of the room.

The Pat to her left cleared his throat rather loudly and she realized she was staring wide eyed into the room, and likely had been for the last few minutes. She nearly encored the fiercest blush she had even had in her life but stifled the embarrassment just in time as she nodded and walked in, feeling bad about her filthy, dirt encrusted boots…. However, it could hardly be helped. The door closed behind her and she heard one set of footsteps moving away… they left guards, guess they were serious about not letting her roam… well, first things first, she pulled off her boots and socks and stretched her raw feet a little with a deep heartfelt sigh. She stood unsteadily for a moment before walking toward the bathroom with a genuine smile on her face and marveled at the massive Roman-esque tub slowly walking inside and closing the door, this was going to be the best bath she had ever had.

&8&

He had his members looking into things, the rumor he had spread was true…. But he still felt a twinge somewhere about lying to the entire garden and slipping a criminal into their midst without their knowledge. Well….. Worse things had been done in the name of security, he supposed and filtered through the reports as they came in, his dual monitors glowing with the notations of fieldwork and the mail. The message had been simple, and easy enough to distribute widely, it started with an E-Message sent to a student with the whole story under the guise of an overheard remark between two garden officials. From there the story was wildfire and more and more the student body was believing it, which was good. The reception however was mixed. About sixty forty split, sixty for toasting the fugitive no matter the story and forty for allowing her sanctuary. He would have to write a more persuasive message, with the majority still against it he would need to plan carefully, this could get violent, as he had suspected. He was roused from from his reverie with a knock at the door. Oh Damn. He scrabled to reassemble the files and minimize the screens succeeding in mostly getting everything back into their folders and getting the folders away as he reached up and clicked the screen to the camera outside the door and sighed. It was Zell, and oh he didn't look happy…

"Squall! Squall! I need to talk to you about something." He could guess what the thing he wanted to discuss was, it didn't take a genius, and Zell was no Genius. So he collected his thoughts and smoothed out the desk leaving a few non-related folders on the desk and pulling up the resounding face of calm.

"It's open." The door opened almost immediately and Zell walked in with Purpose, he was dressed in full SeeD uniform as was required of instructors and he came to stand in front of the desk as formally as Zell could be expected to stand under and circumstances. He noted the set of Zell's jaw and the heavy features set with lines of concentration, Zell never did have much handle on his emotions…

"I have come to ask you about a rumor that has me a little worried…" Squall bit him off in traditional Arrogance, needing to be in charactor. "You want to know if there is anything to the Rumor that we are harboring one of the supporters of the Sorceress here, right?"

"um…. Yeah actually" that pulled a little wind from his sails but he recollected himself quickly, he really was becoming increasingly a competent, dedicated instructor. It was good to see. Squall found himself with two painful options, Either lie and cover it up, or confide in someone who hated Seifer possibly more than Squall himself, he took a hard internal breath and folded his hands on the desk, letting the silence soak in, as Zell squirmed under the intense scrutiny.

"Are you implying I would not tell you if such a thing were possible, that great a matter kept secret even from the staff of the Garden?" no matter that it was true, Zell Blanched a bit as though someone had told him he was wearing no clothes he looked thoroughly ashamed of himself.

"It was only a question, I apologize for that, I was out of line." Squall jumped up and pumped his arm, disaster averted, campaign all around, well in his mind at least. Outside he maintained that cool calculated debonair that he always held, Zell just stood silent at attention, looking rather ashamed of himself.

"Zell, rest assured that you will be notified, don't think that I have changed just because I have had the title commander thrust upon me, it will not change me, I will not hide anything that needs to be known, especially not something that would put the entire garden at risk." Zell looked as though his thoughts had been read off his forehead and averted his eyes no doubt chastising himself for his thoughts.

"Zell." "yes, Commander?" suddenly very serious, "Dismissed." Zell only nodded and turned at walked right out the door without so much as a pause. Squall Physically slumped a bit drawing a long breath holding it and letting it out slowly, He consoled himself that some things are for the greater good…

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A/N: Well there is another one, I do promise that they will eventually start with the relationship, but things have to settle first, and I am never one for a Deus ex Machina, so you will have to be patient, SORRY! Anyway, I hope things remain interesting, I do promise that it will not take too long to work things out, but really I am pulling this out of my hat as I go, even I do not know what is going on until I sit down to write it, so do not E-mail me asking what is gonna happen! sheesh .> Well, anyway, Enjoy R&R 


	10. Knowledge is Power

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VIII but if I did... well, things would have come out differently.

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He sat, reading through more and more reports, sifting through the information as fast as he could, the rumor was becoming less believed as time went on but more people were thinking about it and the balance was beginning to shit, he sighed inwardly. Things were looking up, the elaborations on the Rumors were beginning to sift through and the circumstances of the sanctuary were forming, through the conspiracy theories and the mindless jabber. He smiled absently and leaned back in the chair, finding it comfortable for the first time in quite a while. He let his eyes close and took a deep breath, pulling in long and letting it out in a slow whistle. So there was a light somewhere at the end of the tunnel. Good to know.

Breaking his revere was the intercom on his desk "sir, a miss Tilmette here to see you. About the budget shift." Oh, damn it all. That's right, he had been so wrapped up in the success he was having with his little problem he had completely forgotten about her and her approvals. He punched the intercom button irately pulling back on the mask of impassivity. "Show her in." the door opened without further note and in popped the bundle of joyous energy that served as garden master and head of finances. He had always found a kind of sick humor in the idea of her handling so much money every day with the fact she could barely contain herself as it stood. The thought almost made him crack a smile but he restrained himself but it was a good feeling. She plopped herself down at the seat in front of his desk and flopped the heavy briefcase on the top with a broad grin and an innocent titter. "good evening commander, I trust I'm not interrupting anything?" high on life as usual. He wondered if her hair drooped out of its odd setting when she was depressed and the image brought a new bubble of laughter through his well-guarded mind. Focusing again on her he leaned forward in a calculated and slow gesture, twining his fingers and leaning on his elbows. "of coarse not. Now then, what is it you wanted to tell me?" trying his damnedest to sound enwarpt, likely coming out as mild interest. She just nodded and opened the case with a swift click it popped open and she removed an envelope and handed it to him. "this is the file of gains and losses for this quarter, good news! We're in the black! First time in months!" she seemed greatly pleased with the information, as he tried to soak up as much the gargantuan sums as he could, hundreds of thousands of bills was something he would never understand, so he studied the pie chart and nodded getting the gist.

"Right then, I get the picture. So nothing else new to report? No issues?" she grinned like the cat that just caught the canary. "Nope! But…." Her face mellowing some, into a more serious area of deep contemplation. "I know there is no way you could have missed the rumors, and I wanted to ask…" "if they have any grounding?" he asked quirking a brow in what he hoped was an annoyed manner, but that image of her hair drooping still had him in stitches on the inside. "No. I wanted to know how long you can keep it under wraps." His pulse took a double time. Oh….. well it was bound to happen eventually he sat impassive just to see if she could back up her reasoning. "well, you know cause I got all curious and went back and checked the registered logs for the keywords and found out that the rumor originated with a student that didn't exist, so I just kinda guessed that it had to have come from on high cause only you all have the kind of clearance to pull something like that am I right?" On a mental side not, how big of lungs could she possibly be hiding in that flat chest? But more importantly she knew, and there was no denying anything any more, immediately his mind switched over to Damage Control mode and kicked into high gear, his eyes narrowed his gaze hardened his muscles tightened and his voice became even more devoid of emotion. "does anyone else know what you know?" she immediately picked up the change and jumped into bunny vs. fox mode, she played the bunny. She shied back from his gaze, scrunched up physically shrinking a bit, and her voice held a more subdued tone. "O-only Quistis, she did most of the tracing, she just wanted me to ask……" he drew a deep breath and collected his thoughts for a moment his eyes closeing, her voice broke the silence. "so…. Um… can I know who it is?" he paused….. he tried to remember if she had clocked as one of the supporters or not, and he just plain old couldn't remember. At this stage though, she knew everything but, she may as well know it all. She blurted something right before he opened his mouth. "it's not Siefer is it?" she immediately slapped a hand over her mouth and looked around as though she would be shot for mentioning his name. Squall just shook his head and sighed in resignation. "No. it's Fujin. Siefer and Raijin are dead." Her eyes grew to the size of saucers, and her mouth formed a tiny "o" and he quickly followed up his words with another slew. "No one else can know about this, and nothing said here leaves this room, are we in an understanding?" his eyes were like lasers drilling into her brain. "Y-yes Sir!" She saluted quickly and closing the briefcase scurried out like a frightened hare.

He collected his mind and tried to wrap around these details. So now Selphie knew. And he knew she could be trusted except with Irvine, who could be trusted as far as he knew very well. Well, at least the damage would be contained, but he had to have a chat with his old teacher. He stabbed the intercom again. "Call miss Trepes to my office please, ASAP." "yes sir." The other side blurted back and he sat back in the poofy tense chair and sighed. This was becoming a sighing day, so in retaliation, he resurrected the image of Selphie's face drooping and her hair uncurling simultaneously with a mild series of chuckles and let out a breath feeling much better. However this would be the hard part Quistis had never been the timid girl Selphie was and would not simply cave into his demands, he would have to tell her everything. So. He collected the story in his mind and waited, going over his lines again and again.

"Miss Trepes to see you." He roused from his thoughts to punch the key. "Let her in." The door slide open on it's silent track and she stepped in with her arms crossed over her chest, she was dressed in her SeeD uniform with her hair in a tight bun, as always. "You wanted to see me Squall?" she was one of the few people who had never taken to calling him Commander, it was almost refreshing. "yes, I believe you know what this is about…"

"the Fugitive right?" "Yes. I believe you have your suspicions already on hand" "indeed I do." He paused leaning forward again and gazing right into her eyes. "Well?" "I believe you have Siefer. Here, hidden in the Garden. And have for a time, without telling anyone." "no, Siefer is not here. Both he and Raijin are dead." That took a little wind from her sails, but almost as quickly as she had dropped of her eyes again alighted. "Fujin…" he nodded gravely. "Then, those rumors…." "were not rumors at all, they were True. At least as far as we can verify." Quistis, paused bringing one delicate hand to her mouth. "what do you plan to do?" She was looking at him seriously, trying to garner anything from his eyes, every scap of detail. "you know, none of what I say, was ever said. Nothing leaves this room." "of coarse." " good then. Quistis. I want to help her."

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A/N: sorry friends. this chapter hads been done for a while, I just forgot to post it. Life is getting surreal again... so expect more constant updates. as always R&R. I am trying to write this something like a novel. I'll be damned if anything happens before the entire situation is built, ground up. This is my first shot at Romance, and I want it to be some of my best work. Thank you all for your patience, and the few amung many for your kinda sentiments, you keep me writing. Especially you Mare-Mare, I hope you update your story soon. in way of explanation, she is currently writeing a story entitled "Glass" and it is quite the work,, has me cap[tivated with every step. please read. She works a lot harder than I am. 


	11. Coming Clean

Ahhh…. It's like heaven on earth. A nice bath, no more dirt and grim on my skin, no more sweat smell or the taste of grime in my mouth, for the first time in months I feel clean. Oh it's nice.

She ran her fingers through her hair, face pulled into a slight smile as she checked herself in the mirror fixing her hair, her skin radiant and smooth. Her red eye gazed into her own face as she tied the patch back over her hollow and nodded, she was dressed in a long nightshirt and laid out upon the bed, she felt wonderful. Her mind turned her to the door almost before the hand even connected with it to knock. She pulled the shirt a bit looser and moved to open the door, on the other side the first thing that hit her was the smell of roast beef and mashed potatoes with a side of steamed vegetables, in that moment her stomach tied itself in knots of hunger. She realized she had not eaten in a few days at this point…. The garden faculty member carrying the platter stood in the door way for a few moments while she inwardly struggled to maintain composure before he quietly cleared his throat.

"The commander says you should likely require a meal, so one has been brought." She moved out to the doorway and the member walked swiftly in to place it on the edge of the desk and then just as swiftly vanished out the door, leaving her without a word. She turned and moved slowly to the table, trying to maintain an Iota of dignity in her own mind as she devoured the food in what was likely the least ladylike manor possible, she barely paused to swallow as she nearly shoveled the food into her mouth. She barely paused with the hot potatoes long enough to breathe as she stuffed a slice of beef into her gullet, the vegetables were gone before one could even speak their names. The food, barely hit her stomach before she realized just how much she had eaten and fell back on the bed holding her guts as it felt ready to burst. She lay out on the soft mattress, her chest rose and fell slightly as she thought about what she had to accomplish, so much to do. Her mind wandered.

She thought back to the dying image of him. Of the knight, his white coat ripped and torn, destroyed and smeared with blood., his life slowly seeping from him as his great eyes looked up at her through the haze of blood loss and trauma, she could see the earth through his chest where the rifle had ripped him she could see the burns and gashes, all of them together spelling the end. She took a deep breath, her own pain forgotten in the haze of memory. She remembered the debris and dragging her Brother from it… both of them, she remembered moving that stone and finding him….. dead…. The pipe nearly splitting him in two. His bronze flesh beaten and sripped, his body twisted and mangled, but most of all she remembered his face, the look of horror, of anger, of sadness and pain. And she could barely hold her stomach down…. Then he had Spoken her knight, her brother, her friend. He had said those things. Even as the coppery fluid drained from his form he had used his last words not to praise his sorceress but to remember the better, and to beg forgiveness… it was Seifer…. Like she knew him, as he had been before any of it happened, before the Exam and the Failure, before that witch Riona and that Whore of a sorceress… she felt something warm on her cheek. Her hand held something clear and salty. She was crying. All the pain, all the hardship, she had never had time to Dwell upon any of it until now. And she so dearly wished she hadn't ever thought of it. She curled up, and hugged her knees as the sobs rocked her. She missed his smile, his words and his comforting arm. She missed her brother's funny little way of Working "you know" into almost every sentence, she missed everything about both of them. Everything felt so cold now, so lonely. It felt like the first day she had been at Garden…

She remembered their stares, their whispers… about the little girl, she was thin…. And her eyes were red, her hair silver and Flesh pale as snow. They called her Ghost. Even then she did not Speak much… they mocked her, laughed at her and teased her mercilessly. She had hated them, and they taught her to hate herself. She had spent many weeks, countless hours simply trying to be ignored, to be tolerated. Until she was a Young teen…. She remembered the exact day… they were teasing her again, during combat practice. They were ganging up on her during the mock battles, stabbing the back of her leg as he partner attacked her, knocking her down again and again. She was so sad, so mortified at the blond kid against her with his gunblade, that arrogant smile on his face. She had stood u and gotten a notion in her mind, she hadn't said a thing but when the battle started again she had slapped a horrified look on her face and pointed up. He had turned in and instant to look and in that moment she had blasted him clear across the room, upside down into a wall with Wind, she had smiled in earnest there. Someone else had laughed with her then, the Brunette kid… the other Gunblade…. Wait… the other boy laughing with her… it had been Squall; even then, he had been against Seifer really. She had never noticed. After that time however her opponent had become her friend… her only Friend, Seifer. And shortly thereafter Raijin had joined them, he too had been mocked, for not being the fastest learner they had made fun of him, mocked him and called him names when he made a mistake. That however it was different, she had stood up for him, and Seifer with her, they had helped him and gave him a place. The place they made was at the top, the toughest, the meanest, the most willing to do what it took, and that had made them what they had become. The Disciplinary committee.

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A/N: Glass is now Complete and ended better than I dcould have wished for. ::aplause:: all hands to Mare-Mare for her great work. and seeing as how no one else reviewed that is my only shout out. sorry it took me a while to write this, I have a lot on my mind right now, deadlines seeping slowly closer and all. until next time, please Read and Review! Review! Review! I need to know if I am doing a good job, do you like the story!? How could it be better!? I don't know unless you tell me! Just tell me you liked it, two words would be cool with me! please! 


	12. Past is Past

Disclaimer: You get it already.

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Some things it seems are simply meant to be past. She mused silently laying on the great bed in the room that had been her prison for the last two weeks, she had swiftly grown Bored with the TV that she had discovered but decided to flip absently though the channels anyway having nothing better to do. Her mind wandered ebbing and winding around old memories of her childhood here within this sprawling complex realizing increasingly how things all come together. She remembered the Stories Siefer had told her about where he had been. It was all a little sketchy everything seemed to have holes. Infirm and blurry, with all the peripheral faces obscured things seemed to merely flow Picture by picture. She remembered more minor battles, more small combats, arguments and fights. She smiled rather freely at the thoughts, she had always somehow managed to best both of them. Neither Raijin nor Siefer could ever get the upper hand on the White Haired woman, never losing her cool, merely winning and walking away, bullies thinned out and conflict slowed. She remembered vividly those days though, peace and happiness more than a few nights of sitting in the secret place and looking out across the sprawling Garden all lit up and shining with her friends, her brothers beside her. The soft words she pulled that memory to the forefront and let the reel play slowly….

"_Hey Fu? You think we have any chance on that Exam tomorrow, I don't wanna fail another one, ya know?" The Dark skinned male spoke his fears so easily, his heart on his shoulder and his thoughts on his lips. Nothing to hide and nothing hidden. He had been so kind, he was big yes, and that was his true power, sheer muscle. He had been so gentle with her though, always soft and squishy with her treating her as though he were afraid to break her with the merest touch…he had always managed to make her smile, sure his questions were a little dim but he never goofed up too badly, unless it was math. Give him a Bo and he could perfectly anticipate his opponent and flatten them in nothing flat. But give him a Simple Algebraic equation and he would sit scratching his head for an hour. It was kind of endearing about him. That night he was in a good place though, not really even asking the question he stated just trying to break the silence, he could never stand the Quiet._

"_You will if you don't eventually Force a little brains into that thick head of yours Rai" The Blonde stated with an edge of sarcasm, even through that veil however she knew he was a softy and was just as spooked about the test as he. He was smarter but he was never what one would call "Book smart" he was always goofing off instead of studying. More at home in some gangland than any classroom. He was pig headed and had a slightly off color sense of humor. He smiled so much, Raijin and I often thought his face may be stuck like that. He was a Dreamer though, his mind always in the clouds at the height of life and the Center of attention. Boisterous and loud he never did learn to stow it and his mouth often got him in trouble before his fists ever landed. But through all the faults and dreams he was strong and centered, a pillar of leadership and ability, the Natural Leader. _

"_Well you know, Coach demands the best and I just feel like I got an obligation, ya know?" He shot back with a little guilty hesitation._

"_I know someone who is Cheating off Fu again, eh? Eh?" she just watched as Siefer poked Raijin in the arm and continued repeating that one syllable over and over unt l Raijin pushed him off, with a laugh and they shoved each other around but ended up with each other in headlocks trying to give a mutual noogie. Her laughter echoed through the room as they slowly called a draw and she planted her hands on the edge of the table shewas sitting on and smiled mutedly, The young White haired woman socked both of them in the head once and raised her hand._

"_WINNER!" And they all laughed until slowly falling back into silence they looked back and forth an unspoken agreement and a solemn oath. Nothing, and nothing would ever cause them to stop being friends._

The sound of the Door opening Shocked her from her reviere and she spun reaching for her Pinwheel, only to then realize she didn't have it. She sighed and stood brushing out the Blue vest and pants she was wearing, facing the open door as two of those muted faculty members stepped in followed by Squall, once inside he motioned them to leave one almost protested but the other turned and left and then the second merely followed suit leaving Him and Her alone. She was a bit struck, and stood silent her mouth in a thin line her eyes hard, what did he want now? Was he going to turn her in? Was there even going to be a trial? Thoughts rushed through her mind blazing a trail into darker and darker themes. Until finally a word bubbled up and out.

"YES?"

"We have come forward and your trial will be held here, under the Head instructor, Gardenmaster, and Myself, we will review the case with the Headmaster. Also attending will be Gardenmaster and headmaster of Galbania Garden where many of your crimes were committed. It has already been arranged, and will commence tomorrow. I just came here to tell you that I am going to use all the Clout I have to push for lenience." He turned on his heel leaving the stunned woman again with a dumbfounded look on her face, the foremost question in her mind, Why?

&8&

He walked out of the room and into the hall not even giving her space to talk; he let out a strong breath the moment he heard the door slide closed behind him. That was the Easy part. Now for the more difficult aspect, convinceing Both Selphie and Quistis of his views…. He left word with one of the Faculty and went back to his office and sat behind his desk, looking out, it would take some time to get them down here, he let his mind wander and drift through the grand expanse of memory, his mind slipping back. Thinking over and over about one night years ago, only a single noiseless fragment but it had been so important not eve The GFs ould rip it free…

He sat on the Grass looking out into the grand Blue expanse of the sky, they great clouds of white slowly drifting lazily through the ocean of the heavens, there was no sound but he could remember. The surprise that accompanied the attack, a Capparilla, so far from the forest was unheard of, but it's sonic blast was unmistakeable as he felt his mind go soft in the pitched squeal. He had raised his Gunblade but his hands were shaking so badly he could hardly hold it. He saw the thing andvance slowly and it's abdoment connected with ferocious force smashing him to the ground as it screamed and moved in his blade lashed out. He barely cut the beast only forceing it back for a moment before again trying to strike him again he forced it back as he slowly tried to scramble to his feet. He had just enough time to see the mouth before it hit his bare arm and cut deep all he could do was scream and try to pull away, tears clouding his vision as he watched his arm being shredded, slowly Terror settled in his guts as it finally let go. He fell to the ground doing everything he could to staunch the bleeding. Before the final blow could land though, a disk raked its face and it screeched and turned on it's new attacker only to be met with a second gash, this time though the aim was dead and the Head slipped free of the rubbery flesh slipping to land with a sick plop on the ground. His vision had begun to narrow and he say only a face, like that of an angel, Paled and hardened her red eyes focused in on him even as he lost consiousness one word echoed in his mind. "Safe…"

She had long known who his savior was, and thought about it often. He sighed, his greatest enemy for that one moment had been his friend, had saved his life. He would be Damned before he allowed her to Die without returning the favor. He would Save her, no matter what it took. Now it was his turn to have his thoughts interrupted as he spun to meet the face of Quistis with Selphie walking in the Door. He motioned for them to sit and began to talk, he told everything, every detail every thought and feeling on the issue. His eyes drifting between them both as they sat in rapt attention. He slowly came to a close and sat back in the seat looking between the two.

"That is the entire story, everything."

They were both silent even Selphie managing to look completely serious as they spoke quietly between the two of them and then sat up. Quistis Cleared her throat as Selphie sat rigid in her chair looking distant, she cleared her throat again and Selphie snapped out of it.

"Oh! Squall. We want to help." Those were the most beautiful words he had ever heard in his life

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.A/N: Sorry it has been so Damned long, I have been kinda distracted with School. I hope this extra longchapter will make up for it, I think it was time to Clear up a little of the Reasoning in this strange turn of events. And with any luck, make the next chapter easier to Write. Please, Read and then REVIEW. I am getting next to no feedback aside from my dear friends Camille, and Mare-Mare. Thank you again. I look forward to your opinions. 


	13. Trials and Tribulations

Disclaimer: I do not Own FF VIII

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"Did you hear that Rumor?"  
"The one about the fugitive in Garden? Yeah!" 

"Do you think it's true?"

"I donno but if the Rumors are true then I want to help…"

"Yeah I know what you mean, but they tried to take over the world!"

"Hello? Sorceress? Mind controlled them all, that is why!"

"maybe…"

The side conversation was one repeated and reintroduced all across garden. The story retold and embellished, but at it's center there was that Tiny Grain of Truth, that little sparkle of a hidden agenda that the Headmaster now looked at from across a curved table in a secured area of Galbania Garden. He was solemn and intense A slightly tense head instructor and a distraught looking Garden Master. The Combined group of Galbania and Balamb Gardens sat across the curved smooth wood speaking quietly, after the War a new Headmaster was appointed to Galbania Garden, a Stern, and heavy-handed man by the name of Triston. Beside him were his Associates head instructor Jameson, a small wire of a man who looked rather shifty in his personal opinion but nothing could be done for that, then there was Garden master Gravis. A Testament to steely-eyed businessmen everywhere he was donning a white suit where the others wore the colors of their respective gardens, what a stick-up-the-ass. He had had a few run ins with the man and couldn't help but consider him a scumbag. Nothing said nothing gained I suppose, I shuffle the papers before me trying to gather myself to open up things. I clear my throat and begin slowly, trying to maintain an even tone; I can't help but hardly recognize my own voice for a moment.

"This Counsel is herby convened to assess the case of Fujin Lascota, on Trial for one count of Treason, one count of war crimes, and one count of mass collateral destruction and one count of dereliction of duty, one count of insubordination, and multiple counts of first second and third degree murder in the attacks on Balamb Garden." He sounded so eloquent and sighed he needed to get over himself eventually. "Bring forth the defendant." He watched as Fujin was brought forward by one gabanian and one balamb faculty member she was again handcuffed and in shackles he sighed seeing the state of affairs and reflected on the impossibility of the situation. He had to not only prove she was not worth execution but that she was a good enough person to free… he inwardly sighed and looked up wiping all doubt and trepidation from his face, slowly his mind came back to him and he settled and looked to his peer to his right, and then at the Criminal in question.

"Miss Fujin, I want you to recount the happenings between the joining of Siefer Almsly and the Sorceress Ultamecia."

"Edea you mean." The other headmaster stated, and squall cast a glance in his direction and clarified.

"No, it was determined that Sorceress Edea was under the direct manipulation by the Sorceress Ultamecia in a previous trial, Headmaster." He blanched and became silent as Fujin recounted her story word for word what she had told me, very slowly, very monotonously, rather hoarsely. I watched them, all three of the gentlemen beside me I could see the understanding of the Head instructor though he looked stern his facial expression spoke volumes, the Headmaster too was nodding in belief by the end of the Story occasionally blotting down notes on a Legal pad he had brought with him. It was the Garden Master who I was concerned about. He just sat, looking completely disinterested and bored while half listening to her story, he had the look of someone who had already made up his mind, and somewhere deep down that expression made me want to strange the man.

I knew that I needed to listen again, and pulled back into her story as she was discussing the final attack upon Lunatic Pandora and recounting the battle that had ensued and resulted in the death of her friends she occasionally glanced at me with a mixture of anger and regret. I couldn't tell what she was regretting though, but I had an idea.

&8&

That was the story the whole story. Nothing left out, not a word. I think…. I said about Galbania garden… the attack on Balamb… the intra continental and the rise of Pandora… the revival of Adel and the crash, then the move through FH, and the entrance to Balamb. Heh… I think I embarrassed Puberty boy a little with that, I could see his ego take the hit, almost makes this all worth it… well I'm going to die soon, might as well have something fun rise out of it. Still… That Galbanian in the Suit… what a scumbag, he's supposed to be part of a judge's council and he hardly listened to a word I said…. Speaking of talking I wish I had a glass of water… This Trial is still in session and that bastard looks like he already has the Verdict in mind! Rage! It makes me want to strangle him… am I staring, oh who cares.

Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out. It's been probably three hours of deliberation so far… I should probably stop pacing. And sit down… this cell is small. and the mattress is lumpy…. I should probably get used to it…. Since this will probably be my home for the next lifetime… or maybe they'll give me a cozy home in D District…. I wonder if they remember me… That is a really negative thought, Squall did say he would get me off light, he has plenty of sway. Right?

&8&

The Deliberation had taken five hours, but again the small albino woman was brought before the group and even the galbanian gardenmaster looked serious now. All they eyes of the group were focused on her as Squall stood and cleared his throat, looking across the bench as his colleages looked back at him. And he looked to Fujin and began.

"Fujin Lascota, on the Charges of insubordination, dereliction of duty, and collateral damage, we find you guilty as charged. On the Charges of Treason, manslaughter, first second and third degree murder, we find you not Guilty, as you were under the coercive effects of the socress, we also exonerate the charges on both Seifer Almsly and Raijin Kamigara, as under the influence of a sorceress." He saw a mote, deep in her eyes, relief. But still she stayed steely and focused awaiting the final verdict. "In atonement for these actions you are hereby placed in custody of the Balamb Garden Headmaster to perform restitution as he sees fit, with an additional punishment of twenty lashes, and a sum fine of six million Gil for the reconstruction of Balamb garden to be paid in hours service. That is the final decision of this Tribunal." Fujin nearly fainted where she sat, she was lead out of the room but she could hardly walk of her own accord

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A/N: sorry it has taken me so long to get a handle on this, but here is the Trial, I had to think about it for a while, and I'm still not happy with it but this is takeing me Far too long. so I might redo this chapter later, or even go back and remake it and a dd another chap in there splitting it in two... well I'll get to work on the next chaop soon, R&R. Shout out to Mare-Mare, and Varient skies, and all my dedicated Reviewers, EARN A SHOUT OUT TODAY AND REVIEW! I WILL TAKE ANY SORT OF COMMENT EVEN ONE WORD ONES! 


	14. Incredulity

Disclaimer: I do not Own FF VIII

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She had been surprised. No surprised was to small a word. Flabbergasted that she had not been sentenced to at minimum time in prison… and she was on release, to work in the only place she had learned to call home. There was no way that was real… Squall had pulled through on his word…. Squall… not puberty boy, she had a lot to make up for she knew if she were to ever be able to live a normal life. Well "Normal" is an abstract term… especially in her case. She almost smiled at the absurdity of the thought. Still she was sitting in Ragnorak, next to her old teacher and her classmate of old. She had not said a word and neither of them had tried to get a word out of her. Probably for the best. She wouldn't have had a damned thing to say. There was plenty on her mind but none of it really ever came into focus completely it was all distant confused feelings right now. She took a deep breath and let it out louder than she meant, drawing the eyes of both Squall and Trepe. She verily squirmed under their scrutiny… far too much attention right now. Just sit back and relax. Nothing major, everything is cool.

8&8

Well, she hadn't said anything, and they had been in the air for an hour now. Well it was hardly worth it to expect a word out of Fujin, Ice Queen. Quistis pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and adjusted her seating, after all that trouble the former disciplinary committee had caused they had exonerated them and was now bringing one to live with them. She pinched the bridge of her nose against the oncoming headache. This was a little much. Through all of that, Ultamacia, Pandora, Esthar, and Galbania, she had always assumed that they were the enemy and we are the good guys, but that line becomes more and more blurry every time she looks at the silver haired woman sitting in front of her. Deep down Quistis resolved to come back to this problem later, right now they had a much more important thing to think about, how to break news to the students that one of the people who was taught to be their enemy was now not only not the enemy but an ally, and working for Garden no less! It was times like this she was a little sorry she had gotten her teaching permit back.

8&8

That was the hardest thing I have done, hour of deliberation and fighting with that jackass of a Garden master. He would only be happy if he never saw him again. Ever. He glanced sidelong at the Silver haired woman and drew a little strength from the knowledge he had returned the favor from all those years ago and he let himself smile a little. The hardest part was over but they were not out of the woods yet, next they had to deal with another hurdle. The Students would simply be told. That was all there was too it, just send out a points wide bulletin from the desk of the headmaster and they would have to accept that. Only… where would she teach… he really didn't know anything about her in truth, they had never been friends. Had never been close, had never even been in the same class together. The teaching Exam, it was an appropriate method of sorting. She was smart, he knew that much. He closed his eyes and got to planning that was all that could be done now. She would be evaluated just like the other teachers. It was a lot better than making her a janitor or another lower position.

8&8

The Ragnorak landed in the Quad of Balamb Garden, having long since been retrofitted to this purpose. And under the cover of night moved through the empty halls into the faculty rooms and into a meeting room. They seated themselves around the table and after a few moments of silence Squall began looking across seeing the rather surprised department heads all looking and muttering about the extra Red eyed woman in the room.

"I know what you are all asking, and yes this is Fujin. The Rumors were correct. However that is irrelevant, a special trial was conducted between Galbania and Balamb gardens and it has been determined that she will remain in Balamb garden to pay for the collateral damage inflicted, after being exonerated of all other crimes in light of the ability of the sorceress to manipulate the minds of humans. She will begin work rather soon, likely as a teacher. And Remember. Any harassment of a fellow employee under any circumstances will be dealt with severely. That is all." Squall seated himself to the incredulous stares and quiet conjecture flowing about the room, much argument and complaint was felt but they said nothing to him as they slowly began to leave, few of the instructors looked even indifferent. In fact. If looks could kill…. Squall would probably be flipping burgers in hell right about then. But they left and Squall deflated a little, this was all getting to him. He stood and looked between Quistis, who was still seated there, having come to many of the presented points likely long before he had, it was the only reasonable way to do this and she agreed, he raised a brow wondering why she had not left and she smiled brightly but restrained.

"I would just like to ask my peer a few questions commander. Afterward I will personally escort her to her quarters." She stated firmly and squall nodded knowing better than to bother arguing. He left and returned to his quarters and took a good dosage of painkillers to deal with the monstrous stress headache that would probably keep him up half the night.

Quistis waited until she heard squall step out of earshot before turning a rather steely glare at the white woman. She gathered her thoughts rather carefully before speaking.

"Fujin, I think that things have been pretty hard on you but I also think it is just as much your fault as Siefer's that you abandoned and attacked Garden. Though I don't like it Squall is convinced you are not guilty for whatever reason. It goes against my grain but I have to put my own emotions and suspicions aside. So. Let me be the first to Welcome you aboard to Garden." she extended her hand her face even and measured carefully set as her manicured nails. A bit confused Fujin took her hand, and gave her a rough shake, with her calloused hands and close cut nails. This was coming to be a summarily confusing Day… After that rather contradictory welcome Quistis walked the rather off balance Fujin to her Dorm, which happened to be right next-door to both Squall and Selphie. She found the accommodations rather spacious compared to a prison cell but it was nothing like where she had come from. But hell it was much better than the alternative. She lay down in her bed and was soon off to rather muddled dreams after a rather demented day.

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A/N: sorry for this all takeing so long, I'm in a little bit of a rut. Tired all the time... it sucks. well anyway. thoughts and words exchanged. sorry about moveing the story so slow. I have no idea but it is really hard to be realistic with this kinda thing and move at a reasonable clip -.- I am gonna be at this story for a long time it seems. 


	15. Lesson Plan

Disclaimer: I do not Own FF VIII, because if I did, Riona would still be on perminant Spacewalk.

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Big Day Big Day Big Day… oh boy…. Does my hair look okay? I normally don't wear makeup……. Eh screw that. It feels funny on my face anyway. Freakin' Wrinkles! Why can't these skirts ever stay set right!? NIGHTMARE!

Fujin had been obsessing over her appearance for the first time she could ever remember, it was going to be publicly announced to the students that she was going to be on staff. And she had taken it to heart she should not make a back impression. The last thing she needed was more hate on her shoulders. Interestingly enough, she had been given a class in teaching magic. She had always been strong in the magic department she supposed, but it was hardly her best subject. Well whatever, she would live with that decision. She would wait until the beginning to homeroom to move to the area that would serve as her classroom, it was a rather large area that had been a storage room, but it was easily large enough to accommodate a small gym. Squall had told her that her class size would be about twenty, she figured she had plenty of room and began on her lesson plans that she had neglected the previous night. She had received a few pointers from Squall who had had a teacher make a substitute lesson plan for magic 101 telling them it had been for a record that didn't exist. Smooth planning, she would never have guessed there was much of a tactical mind to the gunblader, she had always assumed it had been Quistis who was the real boss. Anyway the bell wrung and she headed to the empty room, it was rather nice and she did have her own desk, it was a spacious area with blank walls and one window that was long and rather high up, near the side of the desk there were rolled up posters all of them talking about magic. Well, that was nice it gave her something to do. Little did she know that protectionism would have her spending the next thirty minutes straightening posters that always seemed lopsided…

8&8

Squall was obsessing over the minute details of his Uniform he had taken to wearing if for no other reason than it looked a little more formal than his typical attire. He sighed thinking over simpler times but only for a minute. He was supposed to get up in front of the entire garden and announce that they were brining a former fugitive of the second sorceress war into the garden and that was enough to make anyone fidgety, even the normally cool and calm Commander. He moved into his office after rather jumpily walking through the crowds of students on their way to their homerooms to begin the day. They would be sent a school wide bulletin and he knew he would be getting a lot of angry people storming in today. And over the coarse of an hour he had indeed delt with various angry people from the student council to half the teachers in the school. He was becoming quite worn out when the face he was rather hoping would have too stunned to show up trounced his door… again. He knew it had been coming but it didn't make explaining himself easy, especially when everything came into the open.

8&8

The Martial artist had practically kicked in the door before it had a chance to get out of the way and he introduced himself with a rousing round of cursing that could have curdled milk and whatever container was holding it. His displeasure was monumentally obvious. After the incoherent ranting he got to the point.

"You Lied to me Squall she was here the whole to me wasn't she! Holy damn man! I can't believe I let you twist me like that how am I ever gonna trust you if you turn around and lie to my face! …." He was angry, he had walked in here and asked Squall about the Rumor and now it was dead confirmed. Deep down he thought it could have been worse it could have been Seifer, but it was all the same, Squall lied.

8&8

After letting the man rant for a few more moments Squall slammed a hand down on his desk and the blond stopped dead. Just froze mid word, mid sentence, mid thought as squall spoke up.

"the decision is already made. The Garden master head instructor and myself all agree that this was the best coarse of action. There is a follow up message relaying the findings of the trial to be released to all students and instructors. Now. Go back to your class who you abandoned in the training center before a T-Rexaur finds them." He had spoken with a power he had always been able to pull out of no where and the uppity fighter deflated a little as he realized he had indeed abandoned an entire squad of students in the opening hall of the training center with no one but a teaching aide to supervise. For the second time Zell ruefully and rather ashamedly slunk out of the commander's office feeling that Squall had been a little too harsh.

8&8

Fujin was sitting in the middle of the floor looking at her handiwork, she had finally got things set up as she wanted them. she checked her junctions, she needed to have herself ready to teach, she had acquired a Gf named Zephyra a long time ago after Squall had stolen Pandimonia from her, she had not been appreciative but had found this new force fit her a little more nicely than the previous, she felt comfortable in her skin for the first time in a long time. It felt nice to have direction again. She had been lost for a long time, clinging to Seifer and his mission like a life raft when things had gone downhill. Taking another deep breath she stood up and ran through the motions of a warm up, some simple stretching, she remembered how much damage first year students could do with magic. Having no control whatsoever made accidental casting a very real possibility. Ah to be young and an idiot… before falling into memories she was roused by the bell ringing to end the period… well, here goes nothing.

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A/N: This one came to me fast and I wrote it as fast as I could think, the next one seems pretty forthcomeing so maybe there will be another new chap by the end of the week, nice streak huh? anyway, Fuu is a Teacher! Who wants to be in her class? wait till you see the Jokers my mind will prolly cook up... it could prove to be true comedy. as always R&R. 


	16. Working Girl

Squall sat behind his desk and looked the hardwood as though the formula to turn grape nuts into platinum was going to suddenly magically appear ingrained into the wood, he had a headache just thinking about the last few days. If ever there was a time he wished he was a drinker it was now… or a smoker for that matter. But being neither he sat back and rubbed his temples and went back over the budget reports. He was till waiting on the ending of the period but he knew it was coming…. Again. Well maybe he'd get lucky and people would just accept it… and maybe he would suddenly become blonde and his car would flip directions…. On that rather solemn note his mind paused. His hand moved up to trace the scar he could still feel it on his forehead. He let his mind drift a little back to every fight with the man he had ever had…. And there were a few.

&8&

Fujin flew through a kata and then went to her desk and sat down looking at the screen and looking over the class list. Twelve students, nine male three female, a good split. She was never much for dealing with women, probably why she was comfortable around raijin and siefer, probably the two most manly men in this floating heap. She almost laughed on that thought until her mind wandered across the other, the Lion. He had probably saved her life… why did that bother her so much? She glased at the clock and noticed that it had been a solid two minutes, three left In the passing. She watched the door, at could be any second she'd have a bunch of brats to contend with for an hour and a half.

she watched with apprehension as the children slowly trickled in, talking to their friends she immediately noticed a few, they just sent her internal brat radar like wildfire. The first of them was one of the boys, he was a little taller than his peers about 5'0 or so, maybe a little less, his hair was brown and slightly curly giving his rounded face a rather childish appearance. However his black t-shirt and jeans over white sneaks labeled him as a little wannabe rebel, his large green eyes overflowed with equal parts malice and anger with sever overtones of mischief. Trouble, definitely a relative of his, seemed to follow his every movement. Next on the pre-emptive judgment shit-list was another child, he wore a maroon v neck shirt and kaki cargo pants, and she could see things rattling around in them., he was scrawny little more than skin and bones his hair was a rich pitch black pulled back into a short ponytail. His wardrobe spoke good boy but that smile told another story, he was the kind of kid who looked like he would use Fire to set someone's pants on fire just to prove the chant. She groaned inwardly, none of the students had noticed her yet, she hadn't said a word just stood shoulders straight with her hands on her hips eyeing them. Well little could be said of children these days, she knew first hand. She was young enough to be a babysitter, let alone a teacher.

&8&

slowly the group quieted and turned wide eyed to the only other person in the room beside themselves. They inspected her their two dozen eyes roaming and takeing in this person who they could only surmise was an aide. She was as young as Quistis. And she was the youngest Teacher in Garden they knew. So who could this Fair skinned one eyed woman be. It took them time. More than it should have. But she refused to squirm under their gaze. She was just looking over the girls when Brown-Hair spoke up, loud and clear his voice still rather high despite being one of the taller in the class.

"Who are you lady?" he asked and the pair of boys behind him agreed and asked again once from each. Wonderful. A little posse in her class… so help them if they proved to be the troublesome type. She knew more than one way to make their lives hell as long as her "Teaching" career extended….

"Teacher." She said swiftly her eyes narrowing and hardening as she looked over the now silent class, daring a one of the punks to say a word about it. Which, to her surprise one girl did exactly.

"No way, YOU?" she said as she leaned forward a few inches rising on her toes her eyes growing ridiculously wide. It was rather unnerving but it made all the other children giggle. And that noise alone put Fujin in a bad place. Well, found the catty girl right off. At least that little bit was out of the way.

"New Teacher." She said sternly and damn near glared the children into line when she pointed top a line of tape she had put on the floor

"Toes!" and they got the message there was much shuffleing of feet as each kid tried to line their feet up exactly to the tape line, one of the boys fell over trying to make sure it was perfect. The others laughed wickedly and the young fallen child slowly rose to his feet and putting his feet to the line did his best impression of a shadowy rock. That made Fujin's Blood boil. She nearly opened up with Aero and blew the children off their feet but she stopped herself. She settled on two syllables.

"SHUT UP!" her voice blaring through their heads and becoming nearly as effective as any spell would be. Casting Silence couldn't have made them more quiet. That was good to know. They were still vulnerable to loud. She eyed them and then takeing a breathe indicated the child on the end slightly, they followed her every move. Good first step. Excellent first impression.

"Name. Last, First." Her intense gaze settled heavily as the young man choked on his words and finally squeaked an answer.

"Harris, Nickolas MA'M!" he clamped his mouth shut and she almost smiled 'Ma'm' huh? Very nice. She motioned to the next child one by one. Mentally checking the names against the roster that sat on her desk. All present and accounted for. She stood still for a bit looking over them letting them sweat for a few more moments before walking to the whiteboard and writing in a rather elegant script the words "Magic 101" and motioned the kids up closer, they did so, knowing better than to start talking already as she began a lesson. Mostly written and diagramed with curt explanations verbally no more than a sentence really.

She finished the lesson without a hitch. The basic actions involved and how it all worked. First day. Just the basics, she turned on her heel feet together his face again impassive.

"Questions?" she asked swiftly and two mouths started working at once and she raised a and silencing them both. Then shook her head a moment in exasperation::

"Hands." They got the picture and the hands belonging to the offending mouths both raised fast, one boy and one quiet girl, hadn't spoken a word all class. She motioned to the boy first figuring to get the stupid question out of the way first. She was right. It was a whiney kid question.

"When do we get GFs?" Fujin just glared for a moment.

"When Responsible." Was the rough reply the boy looked dejected and would have tucked his tail between his legs had he had one. She then motioned to the girl who collected her thoughts a moment before speaking.

"W-were you the Lady who the older st-students were talking about… .the… C-criminal?" the last word a whisper. Fujin was kind of hoping that wouldn't be the question… well nothing to do but own up.

"Yes." She looked wide eyed for a moment her mouth dropping a bit, some mouths just kind of hung open stupidly for a moment as they assimilated this knowledge, Brown hair was the first to open his Trap.

"They let CRIMINALS Teach now!? HOLY S!" all eyes on him Fujin's went a little wide at the vulgar term she wasn't expecting from a young kid… well that'll teach her for expecting things. Of coarse before her mind could even register her actions the offending child was spinning across the room on the wings of an Aero spell before skidding damn dizzy to the floor hugging dirt as though it were life and death::

"Make the room stop spinning mommy…." He muttered and the other children began to laugh as the bell rang and they all got the hell outta dodge. Well…. So much for good impressions…. She was just waiting for the handcuffs to come flying down…. This would be interesting.


	17. Philosophy

Disclaimer : I do not Own Final Fatasy, because if I did, things would have been a li'l different.

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The day began as many of them had. The first day had been a rough experience but that was swiftly lost as the lessons progressed, the children began, slowly, and in their own way to understand the Teacher who was really just figuring things out for herself. The troublesome children she had identified had shown she still had a sixth sense for annoying people. However they had swiftly learned to be in before the bell and be ready for attendance on the imaginary line that was no longer physically present. Many of the senior instructors had been greatly impressed by how quickly she had the children stopping acting like children and start acting like soldiers. But that was whee most of the greater organization dropped, other than listening when she spoke and responding when asked she really didn't care what they did, as long as they passed the exam.

The first to notice had been Quistis, normally she was always handling troublesome students but those who were in the Silver haired woman's room came in and sat down, talk about quick training. She had been given a troublesome bunch, figuring she would quit within a month, to everyone's surprise she took the hardheaded independent troublemakers and their cronies and whipped them up into shape. Now, four months into her training the former disciplinary leader was walking along, the students didn't have to call out their names anymore she could tell almost at a glance the attendance. 100, good. Marking it down on her clipboard quickly she looked up and began to outline the lesson of the day; it was to be an exercise in Draw. As any SeeD could tell you this was of Massive importance and took much practice to master. She turned to her class making a few quick notes on the board in shorthand that the students had come to understand given plenty of time. Secretly that shorthand was used as a code occasionally simply because of it's complex nuance that made it so gosh darned hard to read if you were not used to it. The Instructor turned on her heel as the students spread out to give each room. There was no particular order but the weaker students tended to gravitate to the back, Front and Center however was one girl, one to whom Fujin had taken special fondness. She was shy and quiet but very quick and astute able to make logical jumps and perform tricks most of the boys would spend months trying to simply DO let alone master. Her name was Karin, and unlike many of the students at Balamb now she was indeed an Orphan, adopted by the Garden from Balamb. She was one of the lucky few.

This girl was often ridiculed by her peers for this and that, every mistake she made was duly noted in their minds for later, knowing better than to pull anything in front of Fujin. She was young as the rest of them and rather short, but she showed a great amount of promise in magic. Fujin smiled as she indicted to one of the kids in front, a show-boater, his skill was average at best but he made such a ham of himself that others thought he was something special. She motioned him up with a raise of her fine chin, the gestures almost looked strange, I say almost because in another time Fujin could well have made a drill instructor cringe. Never one to back down he struck a ready pose and fujin almost cracked a smile when a few of the girls in the back of the room smiled. A little ladies man already. She instructed him not to draw magic but to tell her what magic she had. The boy brought a hand to his face and closed his eyes extending his palm and then let it drop and smiled.

"You have Aero and Tornado" He stated confidently "A." she stated but covertly, Fujin smiled with one corner of her mouth she was not surprised he hadn't noticed the Shell, she had left only one of it on purpose to make it's signature slight almost slight enough to make it a false reading. But she jotted down a A, it was good and he hadn't targeted another student by accident. It was a start. However a Start is just that. Fujin motioned him back in line, he wore a smug look and nodded to his buddies who gave silent commendations. Fujin decided to see if another student could knock him down a bit.

"Karin. Draws?" she asked the girl who immediately looked scared but nodded and spoke. In a slightly shaky voice.

"Areo… tornado and, um.. Shell.." she said her tone slowly shrinking away but Fujin nodded briskly and turning muttered "A Plus." Karin smiled and stepped back, leaving the boy stunned, and angry, trying to hide shaking his fist at his friends who laughed quietly in the back Fujin ignored it. It was more fun to watch him Squirm. She took back up in front of the class and ran over draw again, she had to be sure that of all the things she had to tech they grasped each to the limit of their ability. It wasn't part of anything all she really had to do was be present and show the idea but an inner sense of perfectionism kept her pushing each and every one of them to the limit of their ability. Call it a gift… much as she hated to admit it Quistis was right, she was a teacher.

The class ended soon thereafter and the children filed out for lunch, it was convinent she wasn't an academic instructor. They had to move rooms to get to the new class every period. It had been a boon in disguise even if she had to del with students who showed so little discipline. Oh well. She moved over to her desk and opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a thermos opening it to good, hot Coffee. She was suddenly very glad she knew how to make her own coffee, she doubted anyone else in the Garden took it as strong as she…

8&8

Squall sat behind his desk reading instructor reports. There really were some promising students in this batch. Little dissent and a musketeer attitude well shared among them. Well in battle that would have to be labeled under the advantage category until it proved itself otherwise. She skimmed another report and set it down takeing a hew notes then picked up one in a distinct scrawl. He always knew wich reports came from Fujin. She had an extremely fine attention to details and her handwriting was excellent. Actually easier to read than many, Zell's name came to mind. He read the messages very carefully knowing that she never wrote anything without express purpose. Minimalist in all forms of language, well the one thing she would never be would be a fiction writer that was for sure, but she damn well might be asked to write next year's magic manuals. She was proving to swiftly become the best magic instructor in all of Garden. He was very impressed when the other instructors began to comment on the students in her classes, though they were by no means angels she did instill in them a certain sense of ingrained obedience. But then again if she ran her classroom like the led her life it would be a strict line indeed. He suddenly got the image of Fujin in a military uniform with the children dressed like Galbanian soldiers as she called out drill commands. He couldn't help but chuckle at the image. Well, setting the report aside he moved on but she still stuck out in his mind, it was amazing how fast she had risen in the ranks. She had earned the grudging respect of many of the instructors. She had engaged the class as though engaging a battle, adjusting her fighting style to fit the situation.

His train of thought gave him pause for a moment. He was thinking rather instensly about a woman who was a criminal not a year ago. What had changed so fast? Was it just he never noticed? or maybe that seeing it from the other side disguised what it really was. maybe in the end it doesn't matter she was proveing to be a greater asset than any of them had priviously guessed, or even tryed to imagine, she may still be rather young but Quistis was only 18 when she got her instructor's lisence... It may be time to sit down and talk. They had a lot of years looking at eachother and seeing only an enemy and an obstacle times change... and so do people.

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A/N: Sorry it has taken me so long to Post another chapter but Finals and a Term paper got in my way... well enough excuses, I promise the next chapter will be faster, and I do believe I may finally be able to get around to developeing a relationship somewhere in this slowly smootheing tangle of circumstance. If you havn't noticed this story is bound to get LONG. I do not do Deus ex Machina this will build to the end, nd I promise it will be good, I have something special in store And you will never see it comeing until it has already breached the surface. 


	18. Examination

Disclaimer: I do not own FF VIII It is a fact I finally accept... but honostly, how much cooler would it be if they let me write a sequal? anywho...

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Squall sat at his Desk and contemplated the events unfolding in his mind presently. He had begun to consider the facts lain before him. It seems that the last person any of them had expected to succeed or even to survive her first class was repeatedly distinguishing herself as one of the best teachers in the Garden this was an unprecedented event, and indeed there weren't any protocols to fall back on, she was a globally recognized criminal and she was also a former student of this very garden that she helped to attack not all too long ago and though all physical signs of the Occupation of Balamb were gone along with the damage dealt to the Garden the wounds were still felt by the people. And chances are they would leave scars which were unlikely to heal. Well he had to think of something some of his less open minded instructors were complaining that students wanted transfers into Fujin's class because those students seemed to always score higher on exams. Not to mention that the thrill of being taught to use magic by someone who had worked under the Knight of the Sorceress of Galbania.

She was swiftly earning the respect of many of the Instructors who had heard and believed the rumors early on, but this entire affair, while certainly good for Fujin, was more of a nightmare for Squall as an administrator. It was around this time he became fed up with thinking. Squall stood, his chair rolling back violently as he walked right out the door instructing the secretary to hold all his calls. He wasn't sure when he would be back. Chances are the answer was "Tomorrow" he wqalked back to his dorm and changed into his civilian clothes and waked down, it was amazeing how easily he was recognized now where before he had simply been a face in the crowd. Some of the students waved, he ignored them. They expected as much but knew he had seen them. Some people tried to ignore him as well. He rather liked those people right now. However he'd be damned if he didn't hear one voice in particular he knew wouldn't just buzz off.

"Hey Squall!" Came the voice of the rather distinctive martial artist. Squall visibly sighed and kept walking. "Hey! Wait up! I need to talk to you about something!" ::just keep walking, maybe he will get the idea…. No such luck. Within moments the jumpy hyperactive man was following him right next to him, Classes being over meant he didn't have t do anything officially until tomorrow. What a Drag…

The distinguished pair slowly made their way to the Quad, in it's modified form, where Squall sat himself beneath a tree…. Looked like a maple from here, he wasn't sure. Zell sat Right. Next. To. Him. It was amazeing how he didn't get a point. Squall finally decided to lend an ear to whatever Zell was talking about, off coarse he had to do it his way.

"Shut Up." Causing the mouth of his friend to silence itself immediately. "Now, what are you bothering me about?" Turning to look at the man who looked a little off put, and a tad frustrated.

"Well dude, like I was saying. We havn't really been talking, I mean since you picked up your new position and all. I wanted to find out how you are." Okay, simple question. Simple answer.

"I'm Fine." Squall stated with all the enthusiasm of a rather tired turtle. Zell didn't look satisfied with that. "What? We practically stop speaking for something like months and all you can tell me is 'I'm Fine'? sheesh…. That's what I get for expecting you to change…. Anything new in the big chair? Juicy gossip, anything at all?"

"….. Fujin is the third top instructor in the Garden." He stated calmly. Leaning back on the bench tilting his head up looking into the tree… yeah it was maple.. How about that. He lifted a hand to pluck a leaf off the tree and rip off the stem putting the end in his mouth. It had always been interesting to him that maple syrup was maple sap. He looked over at Zell and almost did a double take. Zell's face had contorted into the most weird looking mask of surprise and disbelief he had ever laid eyes upon.

"That has Got to be Bull! You are in me aren't you? Tell me you're in me!" Looking more than surprised he was somewhere in the neighborhood of dumbfounded one would venture.

"No. Her students are scoring higher in her specific subject than any group anywhere else in the school, save the honors and Leadership classes. Stats don't lie." Squall fought to maintain stoicism as Zell's face went from disconcerting to downright funny as his jaw dropped open and he glared hard as though his mind had suddenly escaped out his mouth.

"You're serious? Wow…. Um…. Wow…." Squall cracked a smile, "Yeah… you said that."

A long moment of silence came between the two as something unstated passed with a few covert glanses over to squall from the blond martial artist. And he finally broke it.

"so…. What ever happened with…… the person." Squall said leaning his hea back again in thought it wasn't hard to remember the big fuss Zell had made over it not long past.

"Oh. OH. Um, things are… going well. Nothing important happening there." Zell sad with a degree of unusually well disguised happiness, but he was conscious of a cetain restraint on the part of his friend and it took squall a few moments to work out why. Had he been any less in control of himself he would probably smacked himself in the forehead and ranted about it. Rinoa. He hadn't even thought about her in months, he was suddenly ashamed of himself. All the work and planning had caused him to completely forget about the woman who had literally picked up and left him behind. It was sobering. Someone who he had thought himself so in love with could simply slip his mind.

"Ahem" Zell cleared his throat, Squall had been quiet for almost two solid minutes and had barely blinked, it was getting unnerving, fast. "have you heard from her? Any chance of her coming back?"

"No. not a peep since she left… nothing except the original letter." He brooded for a few more moments and the more he thought about it, the mre he realized that things had never been all that close between them, she was a completely opposite personality, outgoing, boisterious, making friends with people at the drop of a hat. It almost seemed doomed to fail looking back. He looked over at zell and was about to open his mouth but something seemed to have caught his eye, Squall followed the gaze to see someone he would never have expected to see, it was Fujn, she was sitting in her usual blue outfit pouring over a book entitled "Zodiac Braves Story" she seemed quite enthralled by it and hadn't even noticed them. He took the opportunity to really look at her, and it was like regarding her for the first time. It's funny how a few years and a couple weeks of war can change a person… Her legs were crossed one bobbing occasionally as her good eye roamed down the page. She was a quick reader, he could tell even at this distance. It was a trait not many people in Garden wrapped their heads around, reading, most of the students despised it and many of the teachers were "too busy" to bother either. He "hmmed" quietly and Zell glanced over at him. He was too busy watching her tounge dart out to lick the tip of her finger to turn a stubborn page it was one fluid motion and quite interesting to watch.

"Dude…. Dude…" ::Zell nudged him with an elbow rocketing him from his reverie as his head snapped to his friend and compatriot just in time for Fujin to look up and catch the entire sequence. "What?" "Stop Staring dude." Squall felt his cheeks flush a bit as his head turned down in his traditional 'thinking' look until the heat passed and he sat up. He looked over at Zell, who had a grin as wide as he'd ever seen. "You were checkin' her out" He stated with a tint of mirth. "I didn't know you went for cold and gruesome, not that I should be surprised 'er nothing considering who I'm talking to.

Squall's eyes went wide for a moment at the accusation. "No I wasn't. I was just thinking" Zell raised his hands into the air in the universal symbol of surrender but that grin stayed plastered right where it was. "Hey, man. Whatever you say. I trust my eyes not to lie." Squall was strongly considering clocking the man but let it drop and went back to thinking position to continue a casual observation of the newest instructor. She had shifted a bit showing a bit more leg and lowered the book a tad giving one a rather good view, if he were inclined to look. Squall however did his damnedest to keep his eyes on her red orb as it danced down the page. He considered that for a few moments before movement caught his eye and he got a very nice shot of her uncrossing and recrossing her legs, good and slow. He thought for a moment he may break out into a cold sweat, he decided to talk to Zell to cover, he couldn't have the man assumeing the worst. "Zell, what do you think of the new tailoring on the SeeD official's?"

Zell had zoned out but in normal Zell fascion jumped right back onto the ball. "What? Oh, I think they are kinda more comfortable, and definitely tear less…. Why you thinking of going back? Cause if you are, don't. I like the style." Squall was silent for a few moments feigning thought. "Okay. I'll consider that… I have to be going, I have things to do." Of coarse he left out the bit about the more than uncomfortable feeling that was beginning to make itself known, he stood cautiously and walked away carefully. Zell was left to consider, he glansed at Squall, who was trying very hard to look nonchalant and Fujin who looked for a moment like she was smiling. He blinked anddecided hi eyes were playing tricks on him. Leaning his head back he let out a deep breath. Hey look, Maple.

&8&

She almost laughed. That had been almost too easy. Men and their wandering eyes. It was all to easy, she turned the page it was almost as much fun to read about Ramza as play with the Boys. Just because she acts tough doesn't mean she can't whip out sausy once in a while, watch out male denomination.

She let out a chuckle, and sombered a bit. as the faces of two rather familier boys shot across her mind. People she hadn't thought of since months ago... and that was like a stab to her guts. she closed the book and walked along a similar path right past the chickenwuss toward her room. she had some things to consider... Strongly.

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A/N: I know this was a really fast chapter but it was at school almost finished so I just had to get it home, Are you happy? I'm actually getting off my ass on the Romance part! YAHOO! and for the poeple reading Darkness in your Eyes, I think that story may be on perminant hiatus, lacking a final Vote. so yeah. anyway I hope you enjoy this. Signing out. 


	19. Slip

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 or any of the charactors despite the fact I am much better at telling a compelling story than the real owners, so there.

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He walked fast, his mind reeling. The most important question being "why oh why did I look?" that was the most provocative display he had seen. Well... almost. Anyway it was quite a show…. No there was no way that was not planned. However that led to an even more startling though…. She knew he was looking. Well. There was no way this would end well. He was not sure whether to be angry she was toying with him or angrier that he had been caught. Well it was hardly worth fighting himself over he would have to just assume that she was until he could prove to himself she wasn't just sexy as hell by nature……. He stopped dead in his tracks, much to the oblivious displeasure as a pair of girls who were far more focused on their conversation than on where they were going slammed right into the back of him, toppling all three of them. After he rose and brushed himself off and paused to apologize to the girls, who were to their credit not completely indignant. He felt a little swell of pride, at least he was helping to produce students who had some measure of perspective… his mind however wandered back to the problem at hand, or should he say the person.

&8&

Fujin sat and resumed a normal posture, that little show of force had taken her mind off the book, and her mind wandered back her eyes moving to the page but her mind refusing to follow as she thought about what she had just done. Her mind picked apart the situation from every conceivable angle, and analyzed in a way she had trained her mind to, to the point where it did that even when she definitely didn't want to. She shook her head to free herself from that thought train and finally stood and closed her book, walking away and to somewhere quiet. The "secret" area at the back of the Training Center was usually a good spot, almost no one went there during the day. She wandered back there, her Pinwheel at hand, just in case. It would be decidedly bad if Rex came after her and she was walking around, what did she expect the words to defend her this time?…. This time… last time… when Squall had put a lot on the line, and taken in an admitted fugitive, on her word alone. He had trusted her. Like no one else had, save two…. That thought gave her pause in the hall leading to the center. She paused standing in the tunnel and her arm moved up to the back of her arms and she shifted foot to foot as she thought about it more and more. And finally with a sigh of defeat she turned around and marched her blue clad butt right up to the impromptu office and right past the garden officials who by now had learned better. She marched in to a Squall sitting his hands interlaced and propped on his elbows his forehead on his fists and sighed and then sat bolt upright his hands dropping in very short order as he Tried his best to compose himself in an instant.

"F-Fujin. I…" he stuttered just a bit and then she broke in "Sir. Apo…" she was cut off as he raised a hand.

"No. I want to apologize for my misconduct. I will not deny anything if you lodge a complaint." He looked at her bewildered expression with a collected strategic lack of emotion, and she realized she was staring and saluted and turned on her heel and walked from the room. Indeed, more confused now than ever, indeed with more conflicting thoughts as the door slid closed, what she didn't know was that her commander was having exactly the same reaction on the other side. Both of them it seemed, had something happen right there in that intense look of uncertainty. Who knew one little moment of playing around could lead to such a thing. However, both dismissed it just as quickly. Believing as best they could that the other thought nothing of it and neither should they. The Irony of a single moment of weakness.

&8&

Lodge a complaint, Ha! That's a laugh, then I would have to explain myself anyway and sexual harassment would not look good. The last thing she wanted was some tenth year student thinking of her as less that the one of the strongest people on two feet. Odly enough she got the view that although everything could not have possibly turned out any more awkward.

"sir. Permission to speak?" she inquired softly. Or at least softly by her standers putting her right around a normal speaking voice.

"Permission granted Fujin." Squall stated as he carefully withheld emotion until he heard what she would say. It weighted rather heavily on his mind for a few moments before he fiercely squashed the barely forming ideas as they rose and he just sat still as he could masking his inner turmoil.

"Never angry. Just as Responsible, Sir." He noticed that rather odd note, when she lowered her voice the words came more easily to her. And with her voice lowered much of the gravely quality seemed to vanish spontaneously. Maybe it was just his ears but he could almost hear a certain sultry quality that never made itself known in her normal speech. That train of thought just continued along it's blissful track a few more moments before he noticed she was just looking at him. She looked as though she were expecting something. And he briefly paniced. Then recomposed himself and opened his mouth without thinking at all. And what came out was exactly what his mind was thinking.

"you have a very pleasant voice when you talk like that." Immediately he looked into her face and saw her eye WIDE and her mouth in a thin line and immediately he realized what he had said and gained much the same expression she had at that moment, and all they could do was look at one another in stunned silence. And two words just shot across his mind over and over. Bad Mouth. Bad Mouth. Bad Mouth. Bad mouth….

She was stunned had she heard what she thought she heard from the steely nerved and focused commander? There was no way her ears were working she wanted to ask, she wanted to say anything but she couldn't as thousands of questions buzzed her mind a second most of them resounding around one thought, "he thinks my voice is pleasant?" somehow those words coming from Squall simply did not register. It just simply did not compute, she knew the commander had long been head over heels for that Trollop of a Sorcress. Right? That was right, but then again he had not seen her yet. Which was extremely odd, when suddenly it hit her like a ton of Bricks. The sorceress was gone. That was the only explanation that he even noticed her at all. And somewhere deep down that thought shocked loose her mind.

"S-sir. Dismissed?" she said in as hard a voice as she could manage but even then tripped up a bit, her voice louder again as her question seemed to shock Squall from the Same place and he quickly did a double take and then nodded.

"Um, yes.. D-dismissed….. and Fujin?" she paused halfway through the turn and looked back pausing with just the edge of her heel on the ground looking back to him as he slowly regained his composure and spoke.

"Perhaps we should keep this little incident between us?" Fujin nodded in concurrence and stepped through the door and began walking own the hall her eyes still rather wide as she thought about that and jumped a bit when she heard a hard Thump from Squall's office, and continued walking not wanting to face the man yet.

Squall lifted his head from where it had impacted the desktop, having succeeded in regaining a measure of seriousness from the self inflicted head injury and took a deep breath. In as long he felt confused and couldn't stop the deluge of questions his own traitorous mind conjured. Most Disturbing of which was "I wonder if she's seeing anyone" and that thought immediately threw him into A state of deep thought. That did not cease even as he resumed his work his body on autopilot as the majority of his mind continued to throb with questions he simply could not dismiss.

&8&

It had been five hours. And yet still Fujin could not keep her mind from that momentary slip that had happened in his office, it lead her mind back along a long train of thoughts. But yet the internal argument continued.

_You know he's Available, if he weren't then where is the sorceress? _ No_! But you know he's a good person, you've seen it._ No, it is not right, I refuse to be a Rebound! _You are only saying that because you are afraid you'll like it too._ No it's not that. It's just that I'm afraid I'll just be taking advantage of his feelings, she is Gone and now he's just lost. It would be wrong. _Who are you trying to convince, you are talking to yourself. _I know that, but If I cannot even convince myself I don't want anything to do with him, how can I convince him? _You are afraid because __**they**__ look so much alike. _

She could not continue that internal battle and closed the book she had been blankly stareing at for at least an hour and set it on her nightstand. And sighed her head falling to her palms as she sat on the edge of her bed. Because she knew she had found the real issue. It was his face. They could have been brothers….. Seifer and Squall, if they stood beside each other it almost seemed a mirror had been placed beside one. Only she could not tell wich one was the original. It disturbed her deeply to think about the Blonde knight. For all his Bravado and bluster he was such a kid inside, afraid to lose, afraid to be proved the scared child he knew he was….. Hyperion. She had not thought about her promise in months. She groaned. She felt like such a moron, she had forgotten her promise in the routine, the monotony. It had been taken from her before the Trial… she would have to find out. It was Beyond important she find it, she had a mission to complete, and she was not going to go back on her word. But that would have to wait, Cerfew was already in effect. And she knew better than too go out now. She would immediately be suspected. She was not foolish enough to believe she had been assimilated that easily.

Squall too was having his own mental battle between the memory of Rinoa, and the images so fresh in his mind now of Fujin. He could not help but compare them, every minute detail came under scrutiny in his mind, as much as he tried not to it refused to stop. Rino'a raven locks were soft and flowing always soft to the touch and seeming to dance of their own accord as she walked, long and shimmering. Fujin though, her hair was neat and purposely fixed into it/'s own organized chaos, she was meticulous and he could tell she always looked good when she could help it, really they both did though he wondered if Fujin spent two hours daily caring for her hair like Rinoa did. No it was not likely, though Rinoa was definitely the more energetic of the two he had to ask, was she the more active. Rinoa was known to respond often with a giggle or a titter to anything even remotely embarrassing and more than willing to gossip about it. Frankly he could not See Fujin doing the same thing, she was tight lipped and controlled. Maybe she wasn't the spontaneous ball of energy the Sorcress had been but she knew how to act and how to make someone feel like either the king, or the fool. Having witnessed both, used on Seifer and Zell, respectively. And standing them beside one another Fujin always stood tall, strong and confident, her attitude and mind always open, she did not fear to tell exactly what she thought in exactly the terms she stated. Then to the other. She had a sort of Girlish, soft charm, always mobile and forever shifting in mood, it was almost impossible to read her if you didn't know her well, a constantly moving, eternally animate person. But yet Fujin was a Woman, Rinoa was more the Girl. He paused himself as he began to notice a trend beginning to form with his own mind. Rinoa was his opposite in so many ways. She spoke and acted freely, her heart on her sleeve. Fujin though, she was hardened, quiet and introspective. Much like himself, she was very much himself. And they shared much, if one cared to look at it correctly. Both had lost the one they…. Loved? Maybe. He could only guess on that front. Both had no family, no ties other than the friends they made. Both were serious and proffered a Book to a party almost any day…… he stopped himself sitting in his quarters his hands laying on his chest as he tried to sleep, but still it eluded him and again the voice in the back of his mind spoke. Ask the worst that happens is you are turned down, right? And he decided something there. That if for no other reason than to silence his own mind.

He would.

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A/N: No Excuses, a lot of very bad mojo flying around. andsome very angery proffesors. don't hate me, I do enough of that for everybody. and thanks for no Flames yelling at me to speed up. I really hate those things. hope you enjoy this chapter a bit more, for all it's worth, the next is already in progress. 


	20. Rex

Disclaimer: I do not own FF8.

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The next morning happened far to early for Squall's tastes. he had been up until all hours the previous night thinking. unfortunately for the commander he would be lost in thought a lot today. though that he didn't know yet, or even have and inkling of. he got out of bed, just like always and changed his clothes into his street clothes, the black jacket and pants that had almost become his trademark, carefully setting his medallion against his neck he sat in the dorm room, he had been offered the room for the headmaster, but he had thought it better the room converted to the room to greet foreign dignitaries. he had gotten pretty much used to this smaller dorm room and bedded in the SeeD wing. He looked at the walls, as well as the stacks of weapons monthly magazines and battle series, but aside from a large-scale replica of the Lionheart framed on his wall they were bare, except for one other picture across from his bed and over his desk. it was an image from right after the defeat of Ultamecia it was him with Rinoa in his arms, they were kissing, it was a covert photograph taken by the number one hyperactive garden master herself. Selphie had been very proud of the image. Squall hadn't been exactly pleased but he got a copy anyway, it was a pretty good picture. 

The day began normally enough it was sunny outside and seasonably warm as spring wore on and many of the cadets were enjoying the weather. he could hardly argue with them only he didn't have anyone to share it with since the sorceress had left his life. he pondered her for another few moments just standing looking out across the quad. He shook his head seeing Zell jogging across the quad with a pack of wiped out looking students behind him as he yelled and made a forward sweeping motion, he could be heard even at this range, if nothing else the guy had some lungs.

"come on! it's only been two miles, one more! if you stop jogging to get an extra mile! come on! SeeD need to be the top of the top, and who gets blamed if you arn't? ME!" He carried on and looped back around them to yell at them from behind, it was almost comic, he looked like he should be wearing a Galbanian Drill Sergeant's uniform. Squall stepped out into the quad and Zell spotted him and jogged right up, a sheen of sweat on his face as he gave a good old fashioned shit-eatin' grin and waved, then looked back at his class.

"okay take five boys! Squall buddy, morning! you're up late, what's eating you?" It rather irked Squall that the blonde could read him like a book every time. That'll teach him to be so damned sociable. Squall was silent for a moment and slowly shifted from one foot to the other as he thought of an acceptable answer short of the truth, and came up with a good half-truth, not even a lie in his book.

"I was thinking about Rinoa." that was a safe answer, an expected answer, and not a lie. he had been thinking about Rinoa only in a slightly different context. But he held his face passive as he spoke and his tone even, letting it drop a little bit in defeatist tone. The blonde's face contorted for a few moments and then he lay a fingerless glove on his friend's shoulder and patted a few times. before speaking quietly.

"You don't have to lie man. just tell me who it is."

"I have no idea..." he was cut off right there by the martial artist who wouldn't even let him finish the thought.

"Man, we have known each other for how long? And I can tell when something is bothering you. you can't lie to me, what is her name?" Zell was looking right into Squall's eyes as he spoke, searching them for the answer. Squall in the meantime was flabbergasted. Of coarse he didn't let on, but since when had Zell become a mind reader? Especially about women, this was the guy who couldn't get a girl to talk to him, even after he saved the world. Until a girl caught him showering off, then news of him had spread fast, but that was a different story entirely. Squall could have done without the Details. But back to the matter at hand, how to deal with this new issue, if it were salvageable at all. Zell looked at him hard for a few moments then a smirk ghosted across his lips and was gone just as fast. Before he spoke.

"It's Fujin isn't it?" Now Squall couldn't hide his surprise, his eyebrows raising an inch and his eyes going wide, was it really so obvious that this oblivious clown could pick it up? or had he spent the last few years completely underestimating the spiky haired tattoo-bearing one-man-mauling-machine? Zell's smile became full blown and he nodded and leaned on his back foot and stroked his chin with a smile, looking entirely too smug.

Squall couldn't think right. and brushed past the punching machine almost knocking him over, without a word and made his way to the main halls of the building as Zell called after him rather loudly.

"Dude! Good Luck!" Squall didn't even look back, that had thrown off an already messed up morning, now teetering on the edge of being one of the more bizarre days in hi life since the Time Compression. all he could focus on was a singular desire. Hotdogs.

&8&

Morning Pains, but that was hardly enough to keep her in bed she stood up and with about ninety degrees of backbend and a number of popped vertebra later she stood and stretched out a little with a yawn and reached to the table beside her bed and took up the black patch that settled over her one eye blind. Next task was changing into proper attire for a day off, no schooling today. She smiled at the thought and after throwing on a slightly darker version of her Prewar attire settled into her desk chair leaning back a bit as she pulled up the blinds and let the sun in. it was bright yeah, but few things are nicer than some warm sun after a long day. Or, in this case a long night. Another yawn later she had that good warm loose feeling that only came with a good deep yawn. Another day in the life, right?

She paused at her desk and snagged a notebook, not a diary really. more like a log. not deep personal thoughts or anything, just notations and lessons she'd picked up, memos and things to think about. She placed it with a manila envelope and stepped out of the room locking it from the outside with her key. Her next move was too head outside, not to the quad, no better, she'd head up to the second floor to the balcony aside from the classrooms and stood out on the breezy balcony. There she paused, if only for a moment and just drank it in. The soft sea breeze, the murmurs of gulls that were never too far away and a view of the Galbanian coastline, lush, green and picturesque. She could see the tops of trees from her perch as Garden just sat, hovering over the water silently awaiting its next global transversal. she liked it here. When they weren't at FH she could have some peace and quiet. No one came up here, it wasn't even likely anyone knew she was here. Which suited her just fine. She sat down against the rim of the balcony and opened the notebook, removing a pen from it's spin marking her place as she made a few short notations. She read over her notes after that, just thinking and noticed a trend she hadn't seen before. Both in grades and general ability, that girl from first period was top of her classes. Interesting Factoid, Fujin, had never been top of the class but she was one of the top two, always. It was a resonance that made her think back, and consider the past, including the events leading to the very patch she lay her had against now. She still remembered her curt and strong refusal of a false eye, taking her eye patch instead. It Felt like a badge of honor, no one could forget anymore. She had always been recognized after that. She smiled and then in a fit of mirth dropped her head back and let out a laugh. it felt good to occasionally let go of things, and this was just one of those moments. Whether in her room or anywhere alone she always felt better about letting things like that show. Emotion. Her mind drifted to the previous night and she lowered her head a bit tapping the pen on her page a few moments before she scrawled in her handwriting, which was almost illegible outside someone who was not used to it, the message was simple and marginal, like an afterthought. Hyperion, Location? It was a simple question. and something to ponder. she made a small list of places, each of the storage areas, but then she realized, like an idiot where it would be. The Confiscated Items locker, probably right next to Zell's Z-board... she placed the pen and closed the notebook in one simultaneous motion and stood up. That thought led her back to reality when she realized she wouldn't be able to get it. she sighed, the peace was gone, and she felt the need to hurt something. Standing, she walked back inside and back to her dorm to drop off the papers and pick up her pinwheel, something she was rather proud of, that she was again allowed her weapon. Quite a measure of trust, and headed down to the training area spinning the weapon on her finger as she walked by various students who looked up and whispered as she passed, she was used to it. It had been that way for years. she heard murmurs of killer, and sabotage, but she knew it was all just idle rumor. even if she didn't discourage it, let them have their kicks. It didn't hurt her, unlike how she was about to hurt a few Grats.

&8&

Squall stood up, eight was enough, he waved to the lunch lady and smiled slightly and she waved back, there was a reason he increased their budget. best money spent in a long time. He wandered out of the Cafeteria, and after a stint of wandering headed back to his quarters, the best way to work off a meal like that was a little life or death training. he picked up Lionheart, pleased as the energy and metal of the blade remained as potent as ever, he took a moment to admire the blade, Blue and glistening like it's made of energy, but it was just constantly warm to the touch, almost like heated glass, flat and knickless. he was never exactly sure how it cam to be but it was hella cool. his Blade was one of the few things he took pride in, always shining and oiling the revolver to integrate the heavy pulse shells it fired. he gave it a spin and adjusted his grip setting himself and checking the balance for issues and then set it in it's holster and left his room heading to the training area. he had a mind to get a little rowdy, and inflict a little damage. he strolled with calm finesse, one hand on the hilt of his Gunblade, the other in his pocket, he was comfortable, and that was a rarity all in itself.

He stepped into the green and out looking across the rather large complex area when he heard a crash and looked up, Rex was on the loose again, but that Pinwheel was a little too familiar, immediately he Bolted. Full tilt, knocking over a few grats as he went hardly paying them mind as the battle came into view it was Fujin alright... and Rex was mad...

&8&

Fujin shot backward dodging another bite. The massive beast dove in with a roar and tilting it's head took another bite as she jumped forward and slashed it's exposed eye earning a roar of pain as she landed laughing a solid block of ice that struck it in the side, that had been her last Blizzard, she was in trouble again, and likely not for the last... in the next moments she felt herself come under a Gf and the blue woman over her froze the battlefield and shattered it, Shiva, that could only be one person. she watched as he charged past her wreathed in energy, Limit broken, she had witnessed this once before, but every time it amazed her as the blade became like a wall of energy the massive beast thrown from the dirt into the air only to be met with a fury of assaults. one slash after another bright flashes of energy as the revolver pounded shell after shell compounding the injury as massive gouts of blood appeared across it's body as it flailed in air the Lionheart specialty was almost beautiful when one wasn't being subjected to it's strain.

as it fell back to earth and Squall landed beside her in a crouch after leaping from it using it's chest as a springboard as it landed on it's flank and fought to it's feet and roared but it seemed diminished some, likely because of it's multiple horrible looking wounds she had to hand it too him for damage, she stood and nodded to him, she herself was sporting a number of wounds, for such a large creature it was fast and she couldn't dodge everything, at least not completely. she had a number of wounds none life threatening but she wasn't in top form, not by a long shot. but she forced herself to stand and drew on her spells and grabbed one that felt promising and pushing forward one palm let lose the wind picked up off her palm and like a razorblade she took it and moved it, she threw the wind, not as a weapon itself but let it soar right past the wounds leaving a vacuum behind it, and anyone with a science major can tell you what happens in a vacuum, things rush to fill it, in this case flesh. the massive beast howled in pain as Squall moved in, his blade coming up as it's head came down and Fujin pulled on another spell, and aimed carefully before letting it go squall's blade leaving a freezing trail as the super cooled blade met the beast's head cleaving into the cranium and ripping it free as the wound froze the monster falling to the ground with an earth shaking Rumble and thrashing it's death throws slowly. Fujin dropped to one knee with a sigh, she had thought for a moment that she would die... that she would really die right there. Squall, relatively free of gore, stepped forward and offered out a gloved hand and a slight smile, the light from the sun backlighting him as she looked up and took his hand. Squall gave a soft pull and raised her to her feet.

Fujin opened her mouth to speak but Squall cut her off with a motion before he spoke softly.

"We'll talk after we get you to the doctor, she'll be able to do more than a simple cue spell. nice finishing spell." and Fujin's mouth opened as if to say something then closed and she nodded looking up into his eyes she felt a relief, and a warmth as she walked with him, skirting the slow moving plantlike Grat as they headed to the infirmary. and deep inside squall felt good, a deep strength of a debt fulfilled.

* * *

A/N: First I would like to say, thanks to my constant reviewers, and all the poeple who throw in thier two bits, it helps me stay motivated. and speaking specifically to "Amazed" and "Daksheena" that is exactly what I hope will happen, that people will step outside the Canon and accept new ideas, no matter how far fetched they sound. if the charactors can stay in charactor then I consider it legitimate pairing, hands down. And now we have that moment of connection everybody has been looking for high and low! there it is! WOOO! I did it! now for the hard part!... damn... oh well.

Regards, Last Harlequin.


	21. A Shared Chuckle

Disclaimer: You know already, I do not own yada yada yada

* * *

He sat in silence legs crossed thumbs pressing together and separating in a steady rhythm as he thought about the last half ho

He sat in silence legs crossed thumbs pressing together and separating in a steady rhythm as he thought about the last half hour or so, from the T-Rexaur to the walk through the halls, bearing a bloody Fujin across one arm, as fast as she could manage which was quite a clip all things considered. He looked up to the Clinic door for the umpteenth time in half an hour, and thought his head dropping back to his thumbs as he sat circumspect. he had fulfilled a debt he owed from so long ago. it was something of a weight lifted from his chest he didn't know he had been carrying. He glanced again to the door and sighed inaudibly and slouched a bit trying to relax. he was so lost in thought that he hardly noticed when the door behind him opened and a blonde woman stepped in and looked around following the trail of dripped blood to the rather caked commander slouched uncharacteristically in his seat. she stepped into the room and knocked on the wall twice quickly. this gave the commander quite a jump as he bolted upright and his head snapped to the instructor, softening a bit as he recognized the bespectacled face.

"Quistis..." he felt a twinge of self anger at the realization he didn't know what to say, but the Instructor picked up where he left off, somewhat lessening his slight discomfort.

"Squall I ran across this suspicious trail of blood that leads right to the infirmary with a report a brunette flash was sprinting the halls... anything I should know about?" Squall's cheek tweaked into a slight quick smirk and then fell away but the effect had been there Quistis patted herself on the back for relieving a little tension. Squall raised a hand and swatted the air before his face with the back of his hand. he paused noting the state of the appendage and frown at the bloodstained glove a moment before looking up to Quistis.

"One of our instructors ran afoul Rex on her own." he said telling the least amount he figured he could get away with. Quistis changed her footing, placed her hands on her hips, and raised a brow.

"the initial report mentioned a certain Silver haired instructor. Any basis to these accusations commander?" Squall looked at her a moment and she tried to read his expression getting little more out of it then that he was weighing something before he spoke.

"Yes it was Fujin. what of it?" Quistis shrugged listlessly and looked back to the commander sternly.

"the real reason for me asking was the state you seemed to have been in when I came in, you looked rather concerned... were the injuries really that serious?" she asked with a mix of genuine concern herself and a bit of curiosity about another little tidbit she had gleaned from talking to a certain tattooed blonde instructor. Squall again looked at her with that weighing look that frustratingly vanished just before she got a handle on his thoughts.

"she was on her knees when I arrived on the scene. after slaying Rex I rushed her here full tilt. I didn't have time to notice more than that her clothes were rather badly stained. Does that answer the query?" he asked his eyes narrowed the slightest bit and Quistis got the distinct impression that she had best choose her next words very carefully lest something get out of hand.

"yes, completely Commander." Squall softened a bit and his head turned to look at the floor again. Quistis too was able to relax a bit knowing that intensity was no longer directed at her. she carefully made her way back out of the clinic it was clear something had Squall on edge and it was never wise to bother Squall when he got that way.

He brooded on this turn and then forced himself to pause midthought, and question himself. He asked himself the simplest question he could, why does this rattle me so badly? That question splayed his mind, and forced himself inward, he refused to lie to himself this time so he paused and zoned and thought, like there would ever be a better moment than this.

Fujin Lay in the hospital bed as the stitches went in it hurt a bit, but the anesthetic told her in no uncertain terms that she didn't care. This freed her mind to process the last twenty or so minutes with a bit more clarity now that is was anesthesia in her mind and not adrenaline. she pondered the last bit of time mulling the finer details as she remembered the string her eye went wide, he had saved her life, single handed, he had triggered Limit and slain her attacker... the Rex... it had died, messily. and then he had carried her here... she looked down at the stitches going into her side. She owed him her life. she took a brief but deep breathe and let it out careful not to tension the stitches as Kadowaski snipped the last of stitch, securing it in the wound, she looked up to Fujin and sat quietly, her eyes on the Silver haird woman hands crossed in her lap as she looked on.

"Fujin, is there something on your mind?" The rather annoyingly astute Doctor asked.

"...No." Fujin Lied and the doctor sighed a bit and stood looking toward the door and then back at the prone woman.

"Squall is waiting outside, you need to stay calm and don't do anything stupid or you'll pop those stitches. in other words, calm and slow. you hear me?"

"Understood." Fujin looked at the doctor and nodded. Kadopwaski then moved out to the door and paused with her hand just about on the handle and looked back to the silver haired woman.

"He will likely want to see you, should I let him?" Kadowaski asked and quirked a questioning brow, Fujin laid her head back a moment, looking up to the whitewash ceiling and nodded slowly, best to let it happen. Kadowaski walked out of the room and she said something once outside, but Fujin didn't listen to it, she had a good idea what it was and to whom it was spoke.

Squall stepped into the room, Fujin was wearing an undershirt that had once been white. now rather red tinted across it's bottom, she lay flat and still her eye turned to him as the commander walked across the small distance and pulled up a chair to sit near her head to make it more comfortable they sat in silence a moment before Squall broke it.

"The doctor says you'll be fine, given you take it easy. but I wanted to ask you." He said as he looked at her, he was seated leaning on his elbows which rested on his knees, his hands folded together loosely in front of him, he looked at her with an air of seriousness, and an undercurrent of concern.

"Medication." she replied smoothly and cracked a small grin, which gave squall a swift exhalation that may have been a laugh in minor.

"I like to think we get our hands on some pretty good stuff." It was Fujin's turn to chuckle quietly. they sat in silence for a few more moments before Fujin spoke up.

"Commander?" Squall's head, which had lulled a bit snapped back up to her a small questioning noise rose in his throat and she paused a moment to elaborate.

"Class?" He mulled her question for a moment, extrapolating the meaning out.

"A substitute for tomorrow. I do not think you should be going anywhere until then." he said and she merely nodded and relaxed a bit, at least she wouldn't have to worry about that, she had the lesson plan three days in advance already.

"Fujin." She looked to him as he took a deep breath, he closed his eyes a moment, he wasn't any good at these kind of things but he'd try, he had her undivided attention. might as well ask and get shot down here.

"I was wondering, if you might want to get dinner at the next Leave." There, it was out there. he composed himself for the violent rejection and the admonishments.

"Yes." she said with a slight smile, he opened his mouth and then his brow furrled and he closed it a moment before asking another question

"What? yes?" He had just been thrown for a loop yet again by this woman, but now he had something really... she said yes. wow.

"Yes." She confirmed with a small nod of her head and turned it to look at him. "Where?" He paused to think before comeing back a moment later with his answer.

"Moriarti's at FH? best seafood in the hemisphere." Fujin nodded and they both sat back a bit and sighed in almost perfect harmony. and then looked at each other and neither could suppress the nervous chuckle that rose between them.

"It's a..." Squall started, but Fujin cut him off to finish it. "Date."

* * *

A/N:had to think on this one a bit, I must have rewritten it three or four times I still don't like it but this is proly about as good as it will get. I'll give more next time. Thanks for the reviews all, It is nice to know people still care about my badly written story.


	22. Connect

Fujin's short stint in the recovery area left her with a somewhat temporary limp for a few days, but otherwise unscathed aside from a rather nasty scar on her side that Kadowaski assured her would disappear with time. She had managed well despite the touch of weakness, he had gotten a Stainless steel cane from Kadowaski. The effect was interesting, she suddenly looked like she was perpetually anger, her gait deliberate permanently, her face intense from the pain of her injured leg. Her students had thought they might get to make fun of her, no such luck; she was in reality even more irate, and even less vulnerable. They thought her an easy target, but what she lost is speed she more than made up for in reach, as one of the kids learned rather swiftly, with a good hit on the head with the Steel bar when he made a comment. No one else tried.

That trial however had ended, and she was back on her own two feet good as new, even quicker than predicted. And now she was planning for dinner with Squall. She wasn't even entirely sure why it was such a big deal, it was a rather casual restaurant she remembered from her short stay in FH, so there was no need for a dress, thankfully, but she still set about getting some slightly more formal clothes than her close fitting ensemble she was normally in when out of uniform. She had been talking to a more trusted source, unwilling to let word of this sneak out as Squall had also done a rather careful job of not letting anyone know. It was an interesting secret; she had never done anything like this before. The Novelty was distracting. She however would force herself to calm and pay closer attention to the details rather than what she knew to be an overly romanticized notion of what may happen, she had read too many novels. She sat in her dorm, sparse except for papers in her room and a few photos she had scrounged from old places of Seifer and Raijin. she still missed them, she was slowly beginning to wonder if she would ever let it go. it was an internal argument for another time. She returned her mind to the papers she was grading and noticed she had doodled a gunblade in the corner of the paper in Pen without thinking about it, even more damning, it wasn't Hyperion she had inscribed, it was Lionheart. She groaned and dropped her head to the desk with a soft thud and laid her head there for a moment, was she really acting like such a lovesick puppy? This was completely preposterous. She let it drop and threw herself back into the papers giving it her undivided attention, reading the essay on the strategy of Magic. She paused reading and laying down her red pen she lifted the page and read it again. This was great, an excellent grasp of dynamics and timing as well as a bit of inventiveness. Obviously more than just written for a grade like some of her students and many of the papers, this one had a lot of thought placed into it. It harkened her mind back to a paper she had written in the Garden when she had been a student. It was an interesting coincidence. She marveled about the page until she noted the clipped, conservative signature in the corner of the page. Karin, she should have guessed this one, that kid had talent. but anyway, moving on. she shifted through a few more unremarkable papers, and paused, then turned her head looking at one paper and noticed something interesting a letter pattern in this paper, it was that of one of the troublemakers in the class, it was a code Fujin remembered using from back in her student days, the first letter of every line spelled out a... message... and a vulgar message it was. she smiled and marked the spelling mistakes in the code as well. Might as well mess with the kid if he wanted to mess with her. Then made a little script on her notes to hand off to the disciplinary committee, heh, wow it felt weird even to think that. she made a second note to see about becoming more involved in the Discipline of the Garden, it might be fun.

Squall's day went a little less smoothly, he was swamped yet again by paperwork, who knew Cid really was such a busy man. he sighed as he lifted one page reading a referential to the previous page and going over the wording a fifth time checking for even the smallest pinhole in the script. Just because he was young, every single employer felt as though they had to try to pull one over his eyes in the wording, he usually caught them, but occasionally Quistis or Selphie grabbed something he had nearly missed. he was not supposed to fail, he needed to be the best for the students, a Model by which they could align themselves, it was all important in his mind and omnipotent through his life when he was on the clock. he set down the papers and throwing is head back he sighed deeply and slumped a bit, he was grateful for the privacy of his own office if nothing else. it was relaxing to know he wouldn't be unexpectedly bothered by someone when one was attempting to clear the head.

He leafed back through the page once more line by line, inch by inch of wordy lines. he set the paper down on the desk when he was finished. Finally done with the critiques on the contract for an upcoming job, he breathed a sigh. He got disgusted with the Air tightness everything had to display in special situations. and this certainly warranted that classification. the request for SeeD was made a week ago, but without any great hurry to the notation. It was almost an afterthought; the request was for a number of the soldiers, twelve in all. That was an Abnormally high number, even stranger was the fact that they were paying double the going rate for the mission descriptor, and the fact that he personally had been asked to lead the mission. It was supposed to be a take and hold mission against a Rebel Detachment to be made in one month's time. He had spent days fretting over it, but at the end of the first week, he could hardly find any reason to reject the request on solid grounding. They were headed to FH this week for maintenance and he had plans for that but after that, he had to give some serious thought to who was leading the Garden in his absence. He also had to make sure he was personally in top shape; it would not do well to let his reputation sag in the face of something like this.

Time could really crawl when one let it, and at the end of this infuriating day he made his way back to his dorm for yet another important decision that needed his immediate attention. what he was going to wear for his little... date. he might as well get used to the idea, no matter how bad the form was, dating a subordinate, while not regulated was somewhat frowned upon... not to mention the person he was dating was a world wide criminal not too long ago.

Why did things like this always happen to him. he needed to get his act together, so, stepping into his dorm and opening his closet he began to browse, it had been a while since he had even thought about what he was going to wear, the situation never warranted anything out of the ordinary until now. He peered through his wardrobe, considering a good amount of it was jeans and white t-shirts, he pushed all of that aside and looked for something different. he reached in and pulled out three promising looking shirts and tossed them haphazardly onto his bed, and moved to his dresser and pulling the drawers open to the pants section, being that he was indeed that organized. he sifted through the options and pulled out an additional two pairs of pants before stepping back and closing the drawer to look over his choices. it really had been a while and he eliminated the lime green shirt immediately making note to dispose of it discreetly. He couldn't even remember if he had ever worn it and hoped he hadn't. He picked up the shirts, walked over to the opposite wall and hung them from the shelf so he could see them better. He moved back, and sat on his bed to look at the two remaining options, both were long sleeved button down shirts, collared and essentially the same. One was a dark maroon color, pinstriped with black tingeing it even darker. The other was a deep navy blue of a very similar smile though the breast pocket was on the other side. It was times like this he was glad for uniforms, and casual dress. He left the inner argument to inspect the pants he had found, the first was a pair of very dark blue jeans similar to his normal wardrobe but a bit more faded about the knees, and with a design curling up each leg, a vine-like design done in permanent marker. It was a project he had lain about two years ago, he just made a snaking design that grew around each pocket and up from the bottom, it was three quarters finished but it almost looked better as unfinished, it was different. He shrugged and threw the other pair in the closet haphazardly, they were a pair of looser black denim jeans, and he just felt it was a little too much of the same. A little change was needed. He took the Maroon shirt, it looked better in contrast than the blue hanging the blue one up again and set the outfit on the inside of the door to the closet. at leas that little argument was out of the way. he went and sat at his desk, suddenly wishing he had a hobby to still his mind.

Fujin Sat in her room and looked over her options in clothing, they didn't amount to much really. She sighed as she looked at what little she had, mostly uniforms. That was almost sad, but then again she had not really needed anything else until now. Again, she was mildly troubled by this thought, but only mildly as she set about rooting through her outfits looking for a twist that looked a little better, it was sparse but she had a few things to work with. this could take some time and careful consideration, after all, there were impressions to make, though the first had obviously been good.

The next two hours saw Fu throwing around a dozen or so Ideas and rejecting each summarily, she didn't have any real friends around too mooch off of so she had to wing this herself. Finally, she settled her mind, went back to the basics, and sat down with a piece of paper, when all else fails run the academics. She made a list and a compiling set for every possible combination and checking the ones she had already looked at and rating them on a one to ten scale for reference, if she could have perfect she would settle for as good as it gets. After only about twenty-five minutes under the new system, she had it down to three choices and finally struck one of them, then thought about the place they were going. it's location and view, having a touch of photographic memory she recalled The location of the place and tried to place it in her mind, It was the seafood place she had wondered It was well kept and she had met the owners while staying around, they had lived next to her erstwhile caretaker, It wasn't an overly fancy place but a solid choice, quiet in the evenings. That helped a bit. She nodded, her mind made up. She walked up to the lain outfits and picked up one of them. It was a dark Blue affair, like the sea in the evening, the Blouse was a gray very near to black, she had a belt of a similar shade that she found and placed with them both leaving them hanging in a prominent location in the closet with a satisfied smirk. She felt confident that the look of it would be well suited to the evening, and a very good look for her, if she did say so herself, the real test was yet to come on that front though.

The day finally arrived. The docking went smoothly, and classes were placed on hold for the regular maintenance and SeeD disembarked for a quiet vacation while bare staff stayed at Garden to ensure compliance with the rules and in case anything too horrific should happen. But Squall made his way off deck leaving Xu as acting XO. and left in his street clothes changing as he entered the restaurant where he would wait for Fujin, slipping into the slightly nicer clothes and leaving the extras in a backpack with a few other things he checked away at the door, one of the nicer things about this place, knowing the Owners, and being on good enough terms to have them do little things for you. So he looked himself over and took a deep breath, here was something he hadn't done since Rinoa had left. He turned every time the door opened, looking for Fujin, and was rebuffed a number of times, ad just when he was telling himself it was the last time he would look she stepped in, he had to look twice, she looked... different, dressed as she was it was startling. He had to almost double take to realize it was she, but she gave a wiry half smile and he knew it was she. After all, there maybe a million cycloptic albinos out there but none can manage to look quite that combination of cocky, amused, and knowing at the same time. He stepped up, she had recognized him instantly it seemed, well. There goes the score. He nodded to her and she nodded back, they were taken to their seats with a smile from the hostess and a comment that lead to her receiving two incredulous and slightly annoyed glares either of which was sufficient on its own to stifle any more such outbursts. The combination thereof caused silence and a nervous smile until they were seated and left to be waited upon, they didn't know it, but at the front desk they were already the talk of the town. Perfect for each other they said.

The table was silent with both sizing up the other, letting no detail escape their collective gazes. picking up the obsessive dress of the other and coming to simultaneous silent independent, and concurring opinions. Marvelous. Then the Waiter arrived and they ordered drinks, Water, for both, and spoken at the same time, providing a chuckle and a glance between them and then a look up at the Waiter who looked all too pleased. Together they ordered, Fujin first, by Subtle suggestion of Squall. She had the Shark, A preference taken in stride by the Lion, only fitting a carnivore place itself highest on the food chain, Squall opted for Angler, and something he had never tried. Why not, he reasoned, if the date is a bust at least he'd get a new experience out of it. The next twenty minutes were spent in a slow quite, and methodical quiz from one to the other, asking about hobbies books movies, experience, and finally history. Between the two of them there were some interesting points raised, such as Fujin's hobby of origami, something she rarely indulged in, but enjoyed thoroughly. and Sqaull's enjoyment of Independent film. There were other small surprises, such as they had remarkably similar taste in books, and movies. along with other bits of information that was slowly filed away. The quiet miniature war of information was placed on hold as the food arrived. Squall presented himself with good table manners and was more than pleased to discover she had similar attention to detail, it turned into a light meal commentary on the importance of table manners in their respective positions as well as light joking about some of the less oriented members of respective acquaintances. Zell's name popped up on that note, they mutually agreed he could not form polite table manners to save his skin. Pulling a chuckle from them both. As the meal ended, they sat, at ease. looking over the table the sun just beginning to set as the conversation continued, neither really knew when the smiles had been drawn but they were both smiling. Finally, though both knew it Fujin finally brought it up.

"Smile." she said, a slight grin on her own mouth as she leaned forward a bit, her head tilting just a bit to the side as she spoke.

"You too." he returned, and also leaned forward a bit, a mischievous spark raced across her eye so quickly, if he had been anyone else he might have thought it a trick of his eye, and from the minuscule growth of her smile a moment later he knew she had seen something in him to. They both sat upright, and the smirks shrank back to knowing smiles as Squall settled the bill with swiftness and he stood to pull out her chair for her, she allowed it, no need to kill a flattering habit after all. The walk back to the Garden was silent but yet, filled at the same time, though both had arrived with the intent of letting it end there, something told each that this was not the last time. the walk ended outside Fujin's room, they stood a few moments regarding each other neither sure what to make of any of it, but at the same time, not willing to just let it drop at that. Finally just before hysteria was assured from somewhere Fujin spoke.

"Goodnight." It almost sounded like a question, but Squall stumbled into an affirmative nod and after a hesitant moments of near invisible false starts and a nervous chuckle from both of them Fujin made the comfortable compromise available and offered a hand, that Squall took gratefully.

"Sleep well, obnoxious kids in the morning" And to that they couldn't help but burst into the first unrestrained laugh of the evening. After both had recovered Squall took a deep breath regaining his composure first and making one last note.

"by the way, I heard through the vines that The disciplinary committee is looking for a Coordinator." Seeing Fujin scoff he had to viciously suppress another round of laughter.

"you know they will never be quite as good as the last group even if you were all annoying." He said with a deadly serious and straight face which Fujin assumed and stared back with comparable intensity.

"Puberty Boy." She intoned with an edge of pure venom to match his cold disposition. They stood staring for a moment before both faces cracked a bit and they took that moment to turn their separate ways, Fujin waited to start laughing until she got into her room and closed the door, Squall waited until he was sure that no one was going to hear him, beside the omnipresent Garden faculty members who would have looked sidelong at each other If that wasn't telling. Overall, This had to count as a success.

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A/N: Fixed the Spelling and grammer and am finally giving in, I need a Beta for the first time in my life I will admit that. Requirements: someone who will talk to me, someone with better spelling and grammer than me obviously. Perks: you get a hand in the creatiuve porcess since I pretty much have this writing itself, with only vauge direction. I have a rough idea of where I am heading, much like taking a road trip. so if you cannot handle the road trip mentality, please don't apply. I would love to have a friend ;;... but anyway, here's the much anticipated date scene. hope it was worth it, it's 3 chapters worth crammed into one chappie. IT'S HERE! OMG FQUABBLEPLIHAX! I'm working on the aftermath chapter, and digging into the charactors a little more. Non-Constructive Flames will be used to toast weenies. or will be used to ignite your house. either way, I'll smile, as will the fans. Please tell me what yoyu want to see more of in the Reviews, Your advice is TAKEN!


	23. To the Future

Well. That was… interesting. Fujin couldn't help but think about what had transpired. It wasn't really supposed to go like that, the entire thing was supposed to help them get over each other, why couldn't she have thought of that during the night and just forgotten the whole thing, was this any way to honor the memory of Seifer? By Falling for his Rival like a lovesick puppy. God, how far the mighty have fallen, why was it so hard to maintain objective thought around men? It almost killed the point of thinking logically at all if you couldn't maintain your mind in front of adversity. If it weren't for combat she would just assume be as giddy as Selphie. No… it hurt to even think about seriously. No she would just have to accept the fact, she has a crush on the Lion. A sigh and ran a hand through her hair. Okay. Well, now that that was admitted she could only hope she had made a similarly powerful impression on him. If she had to suffer the pains of caring let him feel the sting too. She pushed her palms into her eyes and grumbled a moment before letting it go. No point in fretting over it, it has already happened. Time to think about what to do now. First thing's first, a cup of something, seltzer would even be fine by now. A beer would be lovely but she knew the straight and narrow Commander wouldn't let anything like that into his Garden. Tightwad. She got her things together for a shower, not for the first time missing the luxury of the Presidential suit she had been in, she absently fantasized about becoming a queen just to stay in that suit a few more times, then laughed at the ridiculous imagery.

After a hot shower and a through drying and settling into a set of baby blue fleece pajamas, she didn't exactly like the shade but they were just sa-damn comfortable, and there was no way she was letting them go over something as silly as color. Ah Practicality. She settled into her Bed and lay looking upside down out the window to the colors of the near dark sky, beautiful in its fading glory.

Squall sat on the edge of his bed thinking and grumbling to himself then he moved to reach underneath the bed and pulled out a small stereo, guilty pleasures. He had a thing for Metal. Damn Zell for the first CD but by this time he could not blame anyone but himself anymore. He's the one with the binder full of music. He flipped through and found a CD that suited the situation, it was sad that he could do that…. Enough dwelling, the music began to seep from the speakers and he set it on his desk near the end of his bed and leaned his elbows onto his knees his hands dangling. He had not had the heart to get out of those clothes yet. That was something though. Irony so deep you could drown in it. Rival Seifer almost your whole life and then start dating his ex… wow Squall new low. He chuckled darkly to himself and stepped up to stand in the middle of the room and turned up the volume a little bit, mouthing the Lyrics of the song as he paced about, as though performing the song, letting the music override the need for sanity and think passively, forget until the end of the track. This is something that needs consideration… later, not now. Eventually the last chords of the song echoed out and he sat down to think on the subject. Well, there could be worse things, it's not like she's a needy mooch or anything. In fact she is likely the most independent woman in the entire garden, ignores everything from fashion to social situations from what he had seen, aside from a passing friendship with one or two instructors she was living on work books and combat. Rather sad in the end. That gives a good idea actually, The garden festival is coming up and that would be a good opportunity to drag her into a group of people and make her interact. Squall smiled to himself, underhanded maybe, but fun? Definitely. Now to lay the plans, The festival, once a year and for the first time he was looking forward to it. He stood with a thoughtful 

look and walked out of his room after carefully storing boom box and music. No reason to have people suddenly deciding he was their friend based entirely on his choice of music. He walked down the halls now nearly devoid of people in the twilight. He came down and stood outside a room and laid his ear to the door and closed his eyes listening for any noise to indicate what was going on inside. After a moment laughter came through, faint but there. Alright that was rather telling. He paused a moment to consider waiting till morning but decided he wouldn't be motivated to do it anymore and knocked on the door soundly, a few moments later the door opened and a messy headed Selphie greeted the show of Squall in his fineries from the date still she looked him over a moment bottom to top before a vulpine grin crossed her features.

"Squall… something I can do for you?" the tone suggestive Squall controlled his urge to snap at the insinuation.

"Selphie, I want to propose a little…. Project for the Garden Festival." He chose his terms carefully he did not want to get dragged into doing anything crazy like last time. though her face alighted and the door swung open she was in a pair of shorts and a very long baggy shirt that almost hid the fact the former existed. She stepped forward and veritably dragged him in and closed the door behind him. He would never cease to be amazed at her strength in relative to her body size, it must be all the spunk or something. She leaned forward a little bit with that grin still going on all cylinders as she clasped her hands behind her back and rose onto her toes a bit as she spoke to emphasise her question.

"So what was this little Idea you had hm?" she asked her bright eyes watching him like a hawk.

"I've noticed that our…. ahem newest instructor…" where he was cut off by her exuberant voice. "You my Fuji? Yeah I noticed that, I tried to get her to come with us on shore leave today, but I couldn't find her…" she trailed off and Squall jumped the opportunity. "And that is exactly why I believe she needs this I want you to assist me in setting up a little internal party to welcome her, she has made a swift name for herself here afterall." The ball of energy with a grin perked right up at the suggestion and assumed a heroic pose one hand on her hip and the other in the air pointing one finger up to the ceiling. "I will make it my mission to get her into the Group! One of Us! One of US!" She proclaimed and then paused and assumed a perplexed expression at Squall's look of complete discombobulation at her pronouncement.

"A touch more um…. Low key… if you would there Selphie… yeah." He managed to squeeze through the shock. As she dropped back into a more 'normal' posture and smiled guilelessly and Squall just looked at her hard for a moment.

"I'll keep it low key, SeeD's Honor." She said with a salute and a titter. And Squall nodded and walked to the door hesitating to see a flowery pattern drawn around the switch and spoke over his shoulder.

"and please do not draw on the walls Selphie…." He said softly, she chuckled nervously as he hesitantly pushed the hippie button and exited the room as Selphie continued to speak softly apparently planning, 

and sighed in relief as he stepped into the relative quiet of the hallway and headed back to his dorm, he'd talk to Zell in the morning, the Flowery button had Traumatized him mentally, it should also be illegal to put that much pink and yellow in one room, the girl had some issues he was sure of it.

He eventually ended up back in his room and changed out of the clothes and lay them in his closet with his other used clothes to be washed and changed into a pair of fleece bottoms. Damn, talk about comfort. So soft and warm, truly the best material for sleeping. No Doubt at all, even if Baby blue wasn't his color at all. He had considered Dying them but never got around to it, so blue it was. Though tonight he didn't mind so much, the color was close to the one that Fujin often wore. He smiled to himself, it had really only been a few hours ago hadn't it…? What a night.

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A/N: Well another Chapter, still seeking a Beta. Setting up another big Chappie, and it might take a while so I figured I better sit down and write this one. Writing this story reminds me of my Ex interestingly enough. But only vaguely. Enough hindsight, I'll get into the next chappie right away even though reviews have begun to drop off, ah summer stagnation, I am not finished though. But I think I may know where it will end, OMG I have a target! Talk again soon.


	24. Power of Observation

The fist date had gone quite well. That was a certainty, and for once there was no concern on either end of one of them piping up and jumping on the relationship train. Squall and Fujin could simultaneously lean back and enjoy a low key relationship of a (mostly) professional nature. Squall would occasionally use the internal lines to have brief conversations as speaking was a bit overplayed in both of them, Fujin with her tendency to monosyllabic responses or at most a single sentence. Slowly though he began to be able to interpret her unspoken words it wasn't too hard it was just another way of reading. It came surprisingly easy. He chocked it up to similar personalities. After all, they were similar, after the first date they had covertly spent time together either during off periods or spending a little executive freedom to enjoy a stress-free sit. He was slowly becoming more inclined toward origami, it was relaxing as she had made it out to be, it was amazing that you could lose yourself in such a trivial little thing, but now his desk often held a something or other on occasion he could be seen playing with a paper frog watching it as he flicked it's tail and it hopped a bit. Fujin had been slowly picking up a few of his oddities herself, especially a flair for Rock and Techno music.

Even as he himself was getting into it. It is nice to share. Who says that conversation is the foundation of relationships. More could be said in the subtle inflection of a single word and the position of the body than could ever be conveyed by words. A pair of months and they could read each other like books. Initially Squall was a touch unnerved but he quickly found that it meant she was eternally tactful in her commentary. Refreshing after Rinoa's unbridled optimism, she always seemed to have these sunny moments when he was at his darkest. Funny how that worked out and lord knows it caused fights up and down. Not to say he and Fujin didn't fight but it was always about something important, like a problem student or a new protocol. Over time he was finding himself asking her opinion on things, she was astute and would occasionally grab something he missed, and if it wasn't that she was the best listener he had ever met. She always seemed to not only hear the words but the emotions underneath, reading you like a book.

It was what scared many people off her, they couldn't hide from her eye. It was a running joke that Diablos wouldn't look her in the eye if he could. But this was getting to be one long train of musings and eventually Squall felt he'd have to get back to work. With a sigh he looked up from his frog and picked up his pen twirling it in his fingers as he read over the SeeD reports. This was a report from the mission taken on in Galbania a month previous, SeeD were in rather constant call in the wake of the Sorceress War. Their undeniable effect on the outcome of that war has been the factor that has drawn much new work to the Garden and it has been a bit of a trial since it began, they were getting an overwhelming call for even small issues. Any time anything seemed out of shape the SeeD were sought to clean it up meaning that Squall had to read a dozen requests weekly at the worst times, they didn't have enough able members to allow this sort of thing to occur so in one or two cases a single seed and a group of high ranked cadets would do the missions just from sheer demand until Squall was finally able to work out a set of criteria. Since then the requests had tapered off into a reasonable stream of actually profitable missions. He was rather proud of his set it had enough leeway for him to modify as needed and make exceptions. So far it had yet to bite him and that was reason enough to pat himself on the back, even if it made things a little boring from time to time and left him with free time he almost wished he didn't have. Funny, suppose that was the bite he'd been looking for. In the mean time, this was time for some indulgence. Opening a window he logged into the network under his old student account and booted up a chess game, after a moment of searching he found his rube, he was after all one of the best chess players in Garden. After all the battles he had been involved in the strategy of the game came to him easily. Now, Windwarrior, time to lose to the King.

Time to consider the next step…. This would take careful planning and a keen eye. Her stratagem was already formed and she smiled. Queen to C 4, Mate in two moves from there. She smiled as she won, Chess a great pastime lately, not to mention she had a knack for it. KingRichard, eat your heart out, Wind always wins. She chuckled and searched for a new opponent, he had been good but in the end she spotted his play before he spotted hers. She reveled in her victory a moment longer before looking at the pool of potential players and noticing something well, well, well.

The Chickenwuss, this could be very interesting. She threw down the virtual gauntlet and the board opened up, amusing and predictably enough he was out in under fifty moves, he was impulsive even on the chessboard. It made her silently wonder how he managed to be so graceful on the battlefield. That however was a quandary for another time. She leaned back in her chair a tough victory and a social one. Not a bad combination, and hell it made her feel good. Anyway, she'd be putting a tag on KingRichard he was a worthy opponent. She just finished saying that and managed to out a chuckle at how much she sounded like someone else right then. She stood and walked across her room and pulled open her wardrobe it had expanded little since her reintroduction into Balamb and threw on a white button up shirt and a pair of jeans, not as tight as she had worn so often before. It was just more comfortable. She picked up the small CD player she had gotten at Squall's suggestions and checked the CD in it, finding it to her satisfaction she stepped out locking the door behind her. She had a notebook under her arm, time to engage in one of her favorite pass times at Garden, people watching. A few of her students wondered how she got so good at reading people. Well a little observation never hurt.

Get used to their expressions and mannerisms and people became exceedingly easy to understand. Taking a seat on the edge of one of the plants and tilting her head toward the notebook she set to work the careful observer, the music in her ears from the player were almost inaudible. A background to the world. She enjoyed that idea, background music to everything happening around her. Relaxing a bit she turned her attentions around, looking for a familiar face pen moving separate from her thoughts, really just doodling, until she found something worth noting.

She eventually settled into watching a student of hers, she had thought it arbitrary but when she noticed who she had chosen she smirked a bit. It was Karen. The timid girl from her class, just as slight as ever but she had quickly separated herself from the group, she was astute and swift minded. She caught tricks quickly often before anyone. Needless she was still quiet, few friends. Right now she was talking to another girl. This second was not in any of Fujin's classes, but that could be said of a majority of the garden so she tried not to concern herself with it and tuned into them she could not read lips but the expressions of the girl and her friend conveyed the topic of conversation. Small talk for now.

They were seated on a Bench the friend held a book and notebook in her lap occasionally motioning to it and focusing on it as she listened, occasionally Karin would point to something and it would start a small bout of serious discussion. Tutoring most likely, well nothing too surprising there Karin seemed the type. Her musings were cut as something stepped right in front of her, it wore a black padded vest over a Tshirt and baggy lengthy shorts over combat boots it could only be one person. She looked up a flick of the finger shifted the song, and she grinned inside, the angry tone of the music fit her attitude at the interruption. Looking up to the Tattooed face of the fighter she smoothed her face and closed her notebook cocking her head a bit.

"Yes?" she asked coolly. She realized that being loud just encouraged him so opted to see if she could get him to state his business and go. He grinned toothily and then just moved off to the side a bit and rested his hands against the ledge she had seated herself on.

"whatcha up ta?" Zell, though always coming about it at the wrong time was nice enough. At least he didn't look at her like she was drenched in his friend's blood anymore, that was awkward eternally. Now he had calmed and just managed to show up at the inopportune moments. She sat and decided how much to tell him it took her a moment only.

"People-watching." Zell responded with his usual enthusiasm and a slightly impish grin. "wow four syllables. Nice. Anyway, Selphie Squall and I were running into town when we settle in a few hours, wondered if you might wanna come. It's cool if you don wanna but you know, thought I'd ask." well, at least he was being thoughtful. She thought about that in silence a few moments her face in a mask of thought just to make sure Zell knew not to interrupt. She had discovered he wasn't exactly the quickest to pick up on hidden motives, or cloaked emotion so you had to make it obvious.

"yes." she said and went back to her notebook and looked up to find the two girls still seated where they were, the lesson continued unimpeded. Zell on the other hand had barely restrained enthusiasm his fist raised a bit but he realized that pumping his arm might be taken the wrong way and the last thing he wanted was to find out how hard Fujin kicked. In his brief friendship with Raijin, built almost entirely on similar training schedules he had had opportunity to see some rather nasty and large bruises on his shin. And to his knowledge there was only one person who could have inflicted them. Needless Zell tried to relax and sit back a bit. He thought how he was going to phrase his next question carefully. He had mostly gotten past the feeling of betrayal after a little soul searching and realizing that if someone he loved had defected he might have as well. So while he thought he leaned back and looked up at the passing sky as the open quad carried with the breeze. Like a windswept plane sometimes until a real windstorm occurred. Naturally Zell marveled at the resilience of the trees in that area. It was something of a miracle they still stood at all. But back to what he had in m mind it would take a little planning in order to make the whole thing coherent cause he really only had a vague idea of what he wanted to say so this might take a while. He wondered absently if there would be any hotdogs left after his workout…

Fujin was a little less distracted as it turned out. She went back to her observation, a little less covertly this time just sitting back her hands in her lap as she watched the two talking, wishing she could read lips with an absent brain cell or hundred. She found it interesting that one on one the girl seemed much less afraid. Time for an experiment. Fujin stood abruptly placing her effects under her arm and strolled over to the pair working dilligently. Fujin stopped over them close enough where she was immediately noticed. The discussion as it turns out had been in GF abilities and junctioning. Something Fujin was getting used to again. It was also something that was just covered in class. Karin and her friend stared up at the albino woman silently a moment thunderstruck before the friend spoke.

"are you miss Lacosta?" she asked like she were some kind of celebrity. It was an absent wave that made Fujin balk at being addressed as "miss" but she let it go without it even crossing her face she merely nodded slowly a slight smile really only apparent at the corners of her mouth. Karin's head was a bit bowed making her eyes invisible as Fujin spoke up in a light conversational tone to the again timid girl.

"tutoring?" she had been getting better about expressing herself verbally. Though she still subconsciously seemed to limit herself to small sentences at longest. Now though that wasn't required she would skip it and drive straight as always. Karin nodded a bit and her friend lit up.

"Yeah, I didn't get it but then Karin said this was how you explained it, like a cell phone, every one has different features and stuff. I think I understand it better now though I am not sure I understood everything but I….." Fujin tuned out the yammering girl and focused her gaze back to karin who had yet to mutter a word. "Karin?" she looked up calm and in a mask of indifference, but it was broken at the edges and a touch of nervousness and maybe fear crept into the corners of her visage.

"y-yes instructor." Fujin smiled at the title and let out a soft barely there chuckle wich seemed to break the mask a bit, but it still held. "Fujin, please." And Karin ducked her head and nodded again. Seemed that it may be the group effect that caused it… or maybe Fujin herself. She'd have to find out later cause she felt someone buzz up behind her. No doubt the noisy blonde again, with a military step she flipped about, and came face to face with a blonde, but not the one she had been expecting. Quistis adjusted her glasses and smiled at Fujin.

"Miss Lacosta." Quistis greeted her and Fujin absently wondered why everyone was calling her miss today…. But then returned her attention and the greeting "Trepe" Quistis had a somewhat amused look on her face and leaned around to look at the two girls who were a little stricken, the two most popular teachers in the garden were right there talking civilly, so much for the rumors of rivalry. "So, student's of yours?" Fujin merely nodded in a rather satisfied way "tutoring." she stated and Quistis nodded. "it is good to see students taking a proactive approach to their education isn't it." Fujin merely nodded and looked back to the pair with an approving nod and then walked away as Trepe began to stroll motioning for her to follow. "it has been a few months since you started teaching and I wanted to say on behalf of the rest of the teaching community that we are happy to have you here. " he words struck Fujin oddly but then again she had never really expected anyone to do anything she merely conducted class as she saw fit, just did what she had thought an instructor should make their classes like. She broke from this line of thought to respond. "Thanks." she said as Quistis nodded and then continued. "and on behalf of this community we would like you to attend the Garden festival, we think it would be a good show of solidarity if all the instructors were present." She spoke with a diplomatic tilt. Reserved yet pushing her toward it in the inexplicable way of the teacher. Fujin rolled her eye and looked back at Quistis "Fine." The Albino said coolly and Quistis smiled broadly and nodded. "Excellent," Quistis said in a way that made Fujin think that Quistis had been planning on it, "I'll have a place set for you".

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A/N: I hate College. that's all. Thank you to all my reviewers, still looking for a volenteer Beta! Rememeber Beta's get special treatment! Until next time!


	25. Festivities

Disclaimer: I do not own Final fantasy 8, or Fujin would have more character development

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The day of the festival snuck up on Fujin she was merely sitting minding her own business in silence enjoying the music player she had bought herself. Now that she had it she often caught herself wondering how she had ever survived without the thing, it was like having background music to life that changed appropriately. She was enjoying a book without the benefit of the headphones because she couldn't shake old habits even now and deadening herself completely to the world seemed so very foolish, and besides, it was hard to appreciate music while doing something else. She paused on that thought and sat up rail straight the book closed and the page dog-eared with nary even a thought. She stood up and placed the book under her arm and retreated from the main circle where she had been sitting and headed back to her classroom, she had already finished the weeks lesson plans, after all, they were as simple as anything to do. Her grades were inputted as they were almost entirely subjective anyway aside from the written exams that came by every so often. So one could as why she was heading to the classroom, well quite simply it was a method of finding a quiet place without distraction… and the fact she had been using her computer there as a planning station for this night. However, en route she was interrupted by a rather bubbly ball of energy that barred her path to the classroom.

"Hi!" the brown topped yellow thing squealed, Fujin personal had something of an aversion to Selphie, she was loud for one, and incredibly perky for two, both were serious grievances to Fujin. She didn't hate her, just preferred not to directly engage her without a suitable distraction prepared. Barring that as currently impossible Fujin gave the bouncy…. Girl her attention hopping to get this over with swiftly. Selphie smiled her hands behind her back and leaned forward a bit while rocking on her heels.

"You ready for the festival tonight? We are looking forward to having you there." She said which made Fujin internally frown keeping her eye on Selphie as she spoke she decided that simple answers would likely end the conversation simply, and that was good, because they were the preferred mode of response.

"Yes." having long since gotten over the need to raise her voice needlessly, especially when dealing with younger students. If she could handle ten year olds then she could definitely handle one Selphie.

"Great! We were almost worried you would try to skip out on us, Bye! Stuff to set up, Festival time!" She said as she veritably bolted past on her way to whatever other engagement she had going. Fujin wondered absently if Selphie was Always that hyper or if it were merely a 'just around people' thing. She was sure Squall had mentioned a few times where the little ball of energy had been quiet even if they had already faded from recent memory. Upon slipping into the empty classroom she headed to the Terminal and began digging to the buried files she was seeking. Opening them she began to browse her plans, she had finally come up with a good setup and had been taking care of it quietly for the last few weeks in preparation, never one to leave things for the final moment. She smiled as she closed the file and picked up the internal line calling the mailing service to ensure the package she had ordered had arrived on time. Gaining an affirmative from the faculty member on the other end she instructed it be brought to her dorm and she hung up and headed there herself, intent upon beating the package there if she could. On the way there she couldn't help but consider the words, she had heard them more than a few times from more than a few people over the last few days and it was beginning to get on her nerves. Did people really consider her that untrustworthy that her word was not good enough for them. Or was there something beneath it, an underlying anticipation, perhaps a grand humiliation was in store... well that train of thought had her stopping in the middle of the hallway. It was concerning because it sounded like a possibility... She sat down and planted both elbows on the desk in her dorm and huffed her chin landing on her upturned palms her head at a slight angle. After a moment the bell on her room chimed, that would be the package. She walked to the door and opened it to be greeted by one of the many..... well she had expected a faculty member to have brought it, instead was a rather interested looking Squall holding a box under his arm nonchalantly his other arm dangling to his side as he looked her in the eye.

"I can only guess this is your dress" He said pulling the box free of his one arm and held it out to her his face cleared of emotion. So he wanted to play that game, hm? She schooled her look and took the box curtly.

"Astute." she said looking him in the eye. "Reason?" She asked pointedly and he looked innocent something that she had often wondered if he was capable of, always so calm and in control one often wondered if such a creature was capable of anything but. But there he was, it was almost adorable.

"I am not allowed to take the easy job anymore?" he retorted vonomlessly, tilting his head a bit and shifting his stance. A subtle game of back and forth, Fujin however decided she was having the last word in this, looking him square in the face she smirked, not a tip of the lip slightly upturned but a full blown smirk as she lifted the box a bit.

"Red." She said and closed the door as Squall opened his mouth his face disbelieving a bit but he was cut off by the door mechanism responding instantly to her command.

Squall was left standing outside the room wondering at it all. But mainly he had an image forming in his head of a white haired woman in a Very red dress. Somehow he felt like it was all to spite him. Though he knew it wasn't it still felt like a jab. The image in his mind though, would have to go before he let the overactive organ spa him into fantasizing until he was disappointed. Unbidden the image resurfaced. He stepped away and walked back toward his own dorm to prepare his own outfit that he would be wearing but a few hours in the future. He had paid a bit more attention than usual to what he was wearing feeling like a plain black tux would not suffice he had opted for a more interesting setup. Something he had seen once that looked interesting. He entered his Dorm room with his code, having coded it during a period when some of the gang had thought it might be hilarious to rearrange his room while he was out about a month previous. It was a pretty classic idea he had to admit but it was not fun to put it all back. In retaliation he had put a code on the door that called faculty after two attempts. Weasel out of that. Aside though, he stepped into the space and went over to the closet where the suit hung from the peg on the door into the closet. He laid it out and smiled. A Maroon and black striped shirt alternating vertical in pin sized stripes, making it appear just slightly darker than it was in reality. This went nicely with the black pants he had picked for the occasion, the jacket was a special job though, a dark maroon. The Irony struck him looking at it, and he was forced to sit with a mildly disconcerted look on his face, had she found him out? Possible though unlikely, he had been rather discreet, and had more of it available to him. No it was much more likely a coincidence that was almost as charming as it was ironic.

He chuckled softly to himself before moving to dress, with the festival's beginning mark measured in hours he got dressed and decided to sit back and relax a bit. He had forgone a tie of any type hating them passionately but he left the jacket open to show the smooth transition from a deep earthy red to a solid midnight, looking at himself in the mirror it was quite flattering really. He enjoyed the effect a bit longer before removing the jacket, draping it over the back of his chair and sitting down to do a little listening turning on his stereo that was small and economically priced, he let the sounds of the hard electronic beat press through his mind and relaxed into the infinite variation of the simple systematic beat. Efficient and comfortably predictable, It was safe and nice though he stopped to listen to the words pouring out and couldn't help but think. Something about the song just resonated, he mouthed the words as the song spoke them.

"Human After All." He was thoughtful and hiked a brow then reached over the the phone on the corner of his desk and lifting the receiver, punched the number of the musical coordinator, being head dog had it's advantages, like giving him say in some of the music played, in this case his favorite kind, electronic, and told him to put the song on the stack for the night, he wasn't really one to force things on people but he felt like this might be important, after dropping all the relevant information for locating the song he hung up and leaned back letting the music play on unimpeded. He knew there was a reason he liked DeftPunk. A Tribian Electronic band and they came up with some interesting songs. He smiled as the song switched to one of his favorites Television Rules the Nation. It Put a smile on his face and he tried to relax, because soon he would be thrown again to the wolves he called friends, with that brunette man-eater at the head of them. He leaned back planting one black shoe on the edge of the desk and pushing himself back to balance vicariously on the back legs of the chair moving a bit back and forth to the beat. He felt like the night would be eventful.

Standing outside dance hall, the same one that had housed their formal inauguration dance at SeeD adjacent to the quad allowing the cool night breeze out to roam the gardens It was well decorated, a tribute to Selphie's individual sense of style, it was heavy on light greens and what if not her favorite sunflower yellow. All in all though it made a tasteful combination that evoked the coloration of a field of the colorful namesake. The music was being set up as they spoke, he adjusted his collar and set his necklace to mid chest, hovering just below the apex of the V his shirt formed at the neck the top button undone. He looked around his hands seeking something to do and seeking his pockets where his thumbs hooked out as he supervised, so far so good, no tricks, no traps. He knew they wouldn't do anything during the dance it was too tacky to get by either Selphie or Quistis. He focused on the night outside it was pretty clear a few clouds floating here and there, high in the sky and wispy like cotton on a child's diorama. He smiled out at the twinkling stars and the gibbous moon, the full moon was approaching, he guessed about a week away yet, well, things can't be too perfect. He looked around the room scouting for his friends he saw Selphie and Quistis directing people around with the final bits of the decorating before the party began. He walked around the room seemingly looking at things but really his mind was wandering especially onto the fact the dinner tonight would have hot dogs as an option. He had been so strongly against it but at the same time he knew a few people personally that would likely starve without the things. He sighed outwardly and shook his head, then to hide his indiscretion, fiddled with the curtain he was standing in front of for a few moments and eventually putting it back where it was and nodding as though he had actually done something.

Finally the lights dimmed and the music began softly, sound checks mostly, a few people standing around the room offering affirmatives at various times. He could hear outside the door there was a bit of noise, people were already arriving. He shook his head and put his hands on his hips looking toward the door. Why couldn't they show this kind of poise on class days he had enough trouble without people being chronically late for class.... no, he was supposed to leave work behind tonight and he had every intention of doing so. This was supposed to be fun and he was not going to let it be otherwise.

Finally the Start time arrived and the doors opened, and the residents of Garden poured in. The students and faculty swiftly moved to engulf the room in a soft atmosphere of voices as they awaited the beginning of the Garden Festival. Once the food was well the way to the stomaches of most of the attendees the music began. It was a soft beginning just some light background sound guitar and soft vocals letting everyone get into the mood of the night. It was an event that many would remember the rest of their potentially short careers. Beyond the morbid thought of that moment the party was going well and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves Squall mingled into the crowd for once allowed to vanish into the throng. It was a party and he was willing to let go a little, after all, this was as much a celebration of a year of survival as anything else.

Fujin arrived about ten minutes after the scheduled start, after all why bother to show up in the crowd let people figure out where they want to be before showing up. It's less hectic, and it ensures that one way or another it will be easier to get what she wanted as she could seek out one aspect of the group and find them all. She was accompanied, somewhat unexpectedly by Karin. These are the sort of things many call a pleasant surprise. She was willing to go with this one, and spoke softly with her company as they made a slow circuit of the room, pausing for essentials like punch and snacks before settling outside as the music became a little louder and shifted to a more technological bent, obviously Squall's hand in things. The Lion himself had yet to make himself known, but that was hardly a problem, the Garden Festival went till Dawn, They had all night to find one another. She stood at that moment against the Railing in the cool night, not yet cold merely an invigorating chill in the air that made one feel alive. She looked inward toward the dance as it progressed recognizing a few faces from her tenure as a Student of the Garden. She watched as Zell spoke to a girl she recognized from the Library. She chuckled to herself, who would have guessed such a loud guy would go for such a bookish girl. He however had his hand around her waist as they danced to the slow beat of the music, close like a waltz. Fujin could only laugh, as she knew the title of the song, Make Love. Ah the delicious moments shared by those who knew. Karin looked up to Fujin periodically, who true to character pretended she didn't notice the first few times. She would look up to her and open her mouth to say something then close it and try again. The fourth time she looked up Fujin took the initiative and spoke.

"Speak." she said simply without even looking down. Karin swallowed before saying something.

"um, Aren't you kinda... mad?" she asked looking up as she said that Fujin's brows knitted together then after a few moments of trying to figure out what she was talking about, she turned and looked at Karin who suddenly looked sheepish, Fujin spoke with an incredulous edge.

"What?" She asked making it quite plain she was confused. Karin took a moment to speak up.

"Zell.... he's dancing with another girl... kinda... you know... close." she said growing quieter and quieter as she continued. Fujin looked at her trying to figure out whether to laugh or be insulted at the insinuation.

"Chickenwuss?" was all she could think to say for a moment then finally her body reacted on it's own, she laughed, hard and it lasted much longer than it should have but it would not stop her so easily at the sheer absurdity of the insinuation.

"seriously?" she asked blinking back a tear as Karin looked simultaneously mortified and amazed. Mortified that her suggestion made her laugh so much and amazement that her instructor could laugh at all, she had heard no more than a chuckle out of her in all the time he had known her and that had only been twice. A voice behind Fujin however caused her to spin on her heel, and caused Karin's eyes to widen a bit and her head to drop a bit.

"laughing at the kids is hardly a good Way to encourage adventurous thinking.... and plus, I think he makes a great Foil, wouldn't you say?" Squall asked standing behind her, looking at her dress with interest. She returned his interest, gazing slowly over Squall's appearance, inch by inch taking in the change from the normal appearance of the leader. Both stood in silent marvel of the color coordination that occurred completely separate of each other. Squall broke the silence a short moment later.

"Red works for you." He said As she nodded her thanks and responded,

"Likewise." He responded in kind. Squall stepped up and stood next to her nearly mirroring her pose looking into the crowd, both were party watchers. Karin, momentarily forgotten, leaned a bit forward to take in a look of both of them eyes darting back and forth, an acute mind coming to a conclusion that fit much better than the other available, and smiled softly before sinking back metaphorically into Fujin's shadow. An interesting night lay yet ahead.

Fujin spent a moment longer before looking away back into the room and letting out a soft sigh looking back at the party as it continued inside, Squall was doing the same though both full well knew the other was not really watching what was happening, just passively observing the smooth flow of people as they moved some flowing to the beat while others danced in their own way to the rhythm set by their friends in little cliques all over the room, the music poured outside loud enough to hear clearly but not so overpowering that conversation had to raise much above normal. Not that it mattered, with the Two of them pointedly not speaking, even as the song turned over to a faster tune the style stayed similar. She looked over to him and spoke.

"Harder." And looked at him with a smug look and he glanced back with the look of the cat caught in the canary cage.

"Better." He responded as she looked to hide the smile that threatened her face only to be caught by another smiling face, if possible more smug than the lion's, Karin's she blushed when she noticed she'd been spotted and mumbled softly.

"I get it now...." and then turned away as Fujin turned to look back into the room her face twinged pink, Squall had to stifle himself to keep from laughing. The timing was too perfect, he only wished he had set it up. He'd have to talk with the girl later, he made a point of catching a glance of the girl's face to commit to memory as best he could. He felt it might be important that he know who she was sooner rather than later. The more important thing however right now was teasing Fujin. He moved to stand in front of her, slowly her eye rose to meet his face. As their eyes met he smiled.

"I'm famished could I get you anything? Perhaps some Blush wine? Or Darker?" He asked in a deep tone that made her shift a bit and try not to think about it too much. She took a breath to compose herself noticing that even that didn't make him break eye contact, she almost loathed his self control. Even Seifer had snuck a peek now and again.... not that he would have ever admitted it..... the train of thought began to darken swiftly as that image passed through her mind. However she banished them in a moment as she looked back up and decided two could play this game.

"Bloody." She said looking him square in the eye, knowing full well the effect the lighting would have on her irises. To his credit he didn't flinch, he nodded slightly and walked away with purpose skirting the crowd. Fujin watched him as he went and sighed shifting her footing a bit and shifting her weight to the other foot leaning back on the banister a bit when a titter to one side reminded her of Karin's presence, Fujin had thought she had left, that girl really was invisible if you weren't careful. Karin grinned at Fujin an unsettling image she painted with that toothy grin.

"I see..." She said looking downwardly her hair falling in front of her eyes again as the grin shrunk back down to a smile. Fujin wondered if that was how she looked when she grinned like that. But then a thought struck her.... well the cat was definitely out of the bag now. Fujin sighed silently and rolled her eye then did what she did best think on her feet, and gave out a full body shiver, which had Karin watching her closely again. Slowly Fujin Turned fully to face Karin putting on the most forced smile she could, she didn't doubt for a moment that it looked completely cheesy. Then she spoke with a forced stutter.

"S-squall?" She shivered again and then looked her hard in the eye dropping all pretenses for a moment and giving her a full on glare.

"KIDDING?" She asked in her formerly so common tone that left no doubt as to whether or not she was being completely serious. Despite the obvious incongruity. Karin however looked away again though a ghost of a smile never left her lips. The music dominated the atmosphere for a few moments before Squall returned looking sidelong back to the drink table a small wet spot on his collar. He was carrying three glasses two of which were obviously for himself and Fujin judging by color and the third was far too pale to be wine, Fujin looked at that glass trying to fathom its purpose but was unable for many long moments until he handed it to Karin. Well it definitely wasn't alcoholic if he was handing it to a kid. When Karin looked up quizzically he dispelled the mystery.

"it's white grape juice." he said quietly and both women nodded knowingly as he moved toward Fujin and handed her one of the two remaining glasses. He smiled at her and she returned it, that had Karin grinning again but she said nothing for now merely looking down reaffirmed in her suspicion.

"Trouble?" Squall just looked a bit coolly back at the refreshment tables when she said that, she couldn't help but laugh. Squall merely looked back to her laughing and after a moment loosened up a bit and gave a little chuckle of his own. They brought up glasses in a silent toast as the music turned down catching everyone's attention. Selphie, looking the picture of her perky self in an uncharacteristic Black dress her hair down in a brown flow given a slight curl. It was a look recommended to her by her erstwhile "companion" who didn't need to be named. All the same, she stood looking down over the crowd as she began to speak. He never ceased to marvel at her speaking ability, that girl had been full of surprises.

"At this time in the year, it has become a tradition to take pause from our lives as warriors and tacticians and take the time to merely be people. But all the same I think that the battlefield is slightly less dangerous than the dating scene especially here," That got a chuckle out of the audience, she seamlessly continued. "But during this festival we make a point of remembering that dangerous aspect of our lives. We celebrate it with this event and with that in mind I'd like to announce the awards, beginning with the beloved teacher award. I think there is little doubt as to who it will be going to again." she said as she opened one of the envelopes that she had.... somewhere. Looking at it a moment she smiled and spoke up even as she pulled out the next to have it ready.

"Quistis Trepe!" She announced with an exuberance only she could posses. After a few moments of applause Quistis ascended the stage, with grace in an interesting black dress matching the affair. It appeared to be made from a long bolt of cloth wrapped about her frame a few times covering her completely, but not without that touch of scandalousness that always hovered somewhere near the instructor. She accepted the award with a muted pleasure, before descending back into the crowd. Selphie held up the next envelope gingerly as she spoke again.

"well, that was a bit of a twist, I thought it would be Zell for sure..." she said softly as though it were a thought to herself, a ripple of laughter passed through the audience followed by one "Hey!". Selphie continued as though that hadn't happened at all, composing herself and raising her head a moment later.

"Next we have an award for a student, Voted on by the instructors as well as your peers, this goes to the one most likely to become SeeD. And this somewhat prestigious, apparently, award goes to... " pausing with dramatic effect as she opened the envelope the room nearly silent but for the soft music in the background.

"The award goes to, Nicoli Veriati!" A cheer arose a moment later from many of the students as a young man bearing a healthy olive skin tone in an eggshell suit ascended the stage under a steady stream of applause. He left the stage into a group of his friends, the only explanation for the sudden rise in volume. Once it calmed again, Selphie stepped up with a bounce of the curl and produced two enveloped from wherever she kept them. A grin on her lips that made her almost frightening to look at for a moment, this was her favorite part.

"and now for the arguably most sought after awards, Cutest couple, best dressed, and of course like we could let you escape without finding the Royals of the Festival!" She spoke with the sort of anticipation that only she could muster at times like this when the gossip wheel showed its true colors and showed what people really thought of course there was an upset planned already thanks in no small part to Quistis, Selphie, and Zell. Squall had set up the atmosphere for the night and convinced them all to aid in his plot to get Fujin to attend, now it was their turn to do something interesting and unexpected.

" First, cutest couple, The winner is... Sharon Gradis and Harry Trist!" A shower of applause as the two called came onto the stage arm in arm, dressed in a rather revealing Forest green dress and a traditional Tuxedo, respectfully. Once they had safely made it back into the crowd she moved on.

"Wonder if a trist is what is going to follow that little award.... Anyway, Best Dressed, let's see... Bradly Jones!" The mentioned ascended the stage in a snappy black suit shoes shining and a scarlet tie giving him a remarkably professional look all the way to what looked to be gemmed cuff links, likely costume, and a gold pin in the lapel. Amusingly though when he raised his hands around the rolled paper that was the award he showed he was wearing florescent pink socks, his bravado got a rise out of the crowd as he descended the steps in a flourish of Pride, hamming it up for all it was worth. After that had died down a little Selphie stepped up and put on her game face, this was the important part for her.

"Now the part that has been awaited Eagerly. The Royalty of the Festival!" A cheer rose as she held up the first card and flipped it open with a smile.

"The Prince of the festival is... Jack Newton!" A roar bubbled up for a moment as the young man who's name was mentioned ascended the stage. He was waving into the crowd and throwing kisses out into the throng he seemed rather proud of himself at least. As the din lowered again Selphie stepped back up to the microphone opening the second card and reading it aloud.

"the princess is... Silvia Greanic!" the cheers were even louder this time as a rather demure looking girl ascended the stage to stand by Jack her head looking at the floor surprise clearly written on her face. Selphie stepped back up to the microphone and cleared her throat before going on as a pair of small metal crows were added to the heads of the pair by a pair of likely unwilling recruits on Selphie's little trip. Speaking of, she had produced another envelope.

"Now for the King and Queen of the festival, voted by their peers, The King of tonight's celebration is....... Squall Leonheart!" She said with a flourish sounding far too pleased with this turn of events. Fujin looked sidelong at Squall who was looking back with a subdued but suspicious expression. He moved away as her eyes followed him ascending the stage with a minimum to the handshakes and congratulations. Once the crown was on his head he was standing eyeing Selphie, a look that clearly conveyed the simple words "You didn't." of coarse Selphie burst into the sort of grin that was usually reserved for villains who had just tied a damsel to the railroad tracks. Squall just stared, he had figured she would pull something but he wondered how he had gotten everyone to go in on it. Fujin in the meantime was watching with amusement to see what girl ended up having to share a dance and a kiss with the Ice Prince. She almost missed the declaration lost in her own little world of speculation. She looked up just as Selphie announced the name of the queen.

"Fujin Laskota!" Fujin stood there thunderstruck, with a supremely confused look upon her face sure she had misheard until she felt a little push from the suddenly bold Karin who was grinning at her again. After some prompting and applause that had Fujin looking indignant and somewhat embarrassed she ascended the stage and cast a gaze at Selphie in such a way that even she balked a bit, something that made Squall look somewhat smug for a moment. The two icy individuals, looking independently uncomfortable, were remarkably well matched a choice of dress that had been amusing before and was now somewhat irritating. Both stood looking at various people in the crowd who they knew to be at least partially responsible for this mess, Zell Quistis and occasional glances cast at Selphie who had the wherewithal to look perturbed. Once the applause died down the stage lighting changed a bit to more closely match the darkened atmosphere in the room though with better highlighting, and Selphie spoke once more, a calmer voice, softer and seeming more the pleased cat rather than the rambunctious kitten.

"May I present to you, the Royals of the Garden festival." She said as applause began, with hoots and hollers that persisted until the music got turned back up and Selphie gave some parting words. Even as the attention in the room shifted to a dull roar as people spoke amongst themselves.

"remember to make sure the Royals spend a dance together, DJ, if you would... something appropriate." She said with a Cheshire grin as she vanished off the stage melding into the crowd as the song shifted to one that had Both Squall and Fujin glaring out looking for the mischievous brunette, the song was entitled "Make Love". They shared a sigh and looked to each other unsure whether to be happy for the opportunity to Dance or fearful due to the an ounce of trepidation, this was a slow beat and a slow dance something, close and sensual. The two of them made their way into the crowd, stopping on the dance floor Squall's hands settled just on her hip, hers onto his shoulders, and the song began in earnest. It was not a long song both knew but even as it ended and the next began they stayed there on the floor, enjoying the feeling of closeness. A small circle had formed around them giving them room so they didn't have to worry as much about being bumped into. The music slowly tuned out as they danced. After a time the silence was broken by a soft voice in her ear.

"Fujin." She looked up her red eye half lidded her body and face relaxed as she looked up into his eyes. They paused like that for a moment, before he continued speaking.

"I guess this wasn't so bad, huh?" he asked with a muted smile, and she let out a soft chuckle and shook her head a bit, the smile grew a bit as she lay her head back to his chest a few more moments as the song slowly ended and turned over to a slightly more upbeat tune, though the tempo increased little. The night passed by swiftly after that, they danced a few more songs and then broke away, Squall's arm still around her as they went to get refreshments speaking quietly to each other as much as possible. The night however soon began to turn to day, a day off it was worth adding, after all who could really expect to go to class when many of the people involved had been up literally the entire night. So, as the horizon began to light Squall was found walking back with Fujin to her room, sharing a comfortable silence filled with little things that didn't need to be said. As they reached her dorm she inputted the code without looking and the door slid open she made to step forward and felt his hand slip from her, she turned and looked back at him a moment he seemed calm, she however stepped back outside the door and in a show of her former roughness grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him in the door letting it slide closed behind she looked him in the eyes then smirked.

"Comfortable, then return." she said as she opened the door and he stepped back out a little surprised but more simply stunned. He decided that if she was planning on making a move she would do it then headed off to his room to comply with her order knowing that was what it was. He Returned in short order wearing a loose pair of pants over his sleepwear and a loose white shirt a size or two too large. He buzzed her room and the door slid open showing Fujin standing much as he was in a set of clothes obviously too large for her and with something on underneath. He stepped in as she stepped out of the doorway and with a quick glance about the halls closed the door confident that they had gone unnoticed. She walked into the dorm and sat down in one of the chairs in the single motioning to the other and to the coffee table with some other drink on it, steaming softly filing the room with the light scent of tea. A little caffeine to let the conversation continue. He sat down and poured himself a cup and one for her which she took with a nod of thanks, they both took a moment to sip at the tea letting the silence carry a few more moments. Squall was the one to break it.

"I swear I had everything to do with the music and nothing to do with the crown." he said calmly and sippped the tea waiting for her response. She chuckled.

"Bouncy." she said looking him in the eye. He sighed and rolled his eyes taking another sip of the hot liquid.

"I have no doubt that she's behind it. It is something she would do." Fujin chuckled over her Tea and Squall joined her mirth a moment later. He closed his eyes and looked over at her she cocked a brow at him.

"tired?" Squall looked away and she smirked at his embarrassment. Then a moment later she got caught off guard by a yawn she couldn't stifle in time which had Squall laughing until he too got trapped by the yawn. They both sat in silence as they finished the tea that unsurprisingly did little for their individual sluggishness. After it was finished Squall stood and she looked up at him, her legs curled under herself likely for warmth judging by the thickness of what she was wearing. He walked over and stood over her a moment composing what he was going to say though Fujin jumped in and beat him to it.

"Stay?" She asked softly, a little unsure of herself. Squall said nothing a moment then nodded and her face brightened a bit. He offered out a hand which she took and he gave her a hand up on standing she stumbled a bit and stomped her foot a few times covertly, Squall stifled a chuckle in favor of the moment. He wrapped an arm about her shoulders and she sighed softly. Her mind lapsed a moment as she realized just how warm he was, lord, he could be a space heater if he wanted. Ice Prince was nothing she would ever call him again. She was quite prone to getting a little chilly, she had always had a strong preference for warm climates, being slight, she was often chilled, adding to her already pale complexion. Squall took a step toward the bed and she stayed with him trying her damnedest not to break contact with him as they moved, they did break as he deftly removed the outer pair of pants and slipped into the bed, followed quickly by Fujin who had taken a moment longer having one extra article of clothing to remove. He lay looking up at the ceiling and she lay not beside him but rather partially atop him her head resting on his chest. He lay a hand on the side of her head and took deep breaths that soon blended seamlessly into the slow rhythm of sleep, she followed him shortly thereafter. The shades pulled close and the world around them quiet, it seemed to her that she could sleep all day like this.

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A/N: well, update with a times 3 multiplyer on it. Took me hell and high to write it. However here it is. all 6745 words. try to enjoy.


	26. Changing

Disclaimer: Obligatory, and normal  


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Slowly the world came into focus, the ceiling bare and bright a single fixture with a slowly spinning fan hovered overhead, he blinked slowly but didn't move the lethargy of sleep still holding him tight, binding his muscles to inactivity. He lay for many moments his mind blank. Though he didn't register it he was enjoying the quiet and plain texture the way the light played across the ceiling in blended patterns that soothed the mind as they flowed through the curtains. Then at once he felt a shock hit his body. A jolt of power as something shifted next the him the weight on his chest shifted, he hadn't even noticed until that moment it had existed. Then, all at once, the previous night rushed back to him. He smiled faintly and shifted a bit, careful not to jar her, and looked down at the shifting form on the bed. Fujin lay slightly curled, her cheek resting on his ribs, her lips slightly parted, her eye patch slightly askew, breathing slow and deep. He was possessed with a need to remember this moment so he made great effort to keep it in his mind.

He moved an arm and laid it on her shoulder. Her eyes opened slowly, her lips closed and a smooth expression blank and yet warm, content as her mind slowly roused within the warm room, a hand rose and pressed down on his stomach causing him to swiftly exhale. As he did she paused, then looked up toward his face and her half lidded eye blinked a few times then went wide, and slowly followed his body down to where her hand rested on his stomach. She seemed to take a moment to register this information then pulled her hand away as though it had been burned and swiftly turned away. Squall chuckled softly having caught the edge of her face and the red that had swiftly rose to dominate her pale skin. She looked over her shoulder at him with an amusing mix of anger and embarrassment.

Squall pushed himself up to a sitting position and laid a hand on her shoulder, she brought up a hand and laid it on his and took a deep breath. Squall had little doubt that was to calm the blush. He was proven right as she turned back nearly to her normal shade. a little flushed but that could just as easily have come from the warm covers that lay over them. It was something of a shocking discovery to them both, though neither said anything, that the room was quite chilly. Fujin's jaw chattered a moment and then her eyebrows shot up as Squall reached down and lifted the covers on the side of the bed and pulled them over her shoulders. She looked down and away for a moment caught unaware by the tenderness of the action. He gave her a knowing smile and she returned it a moment later. He sat up sliding the covers up to his shoulders until he met her shoulder and pulled it over both of them as they sat side by side, facing out toward the window where the sun was sending patterns of warm light across the room.

"Well I guess this all worked out alright," Squall said and Fujin nodded her agreement.

"Very Good," she said quietly, never quite taking the force out of her voice, but she was smiling and that was always a good sign. They sat like that a few more comfortable moments before Fujin stood, leaving the blanket's and the warmth behind and looked back at him, giving him a glare much as she had for years before, whenever Seifer had been at the head of their posse.

"CHANGEING" She said adopting all the violent energy she had become so well known for in her time as a student of Garden. Squall, catching the meaning of her word choice decided it would be best not to argue. She walked to her closet where she rustled around for a little while before moving swiftly to her small bathroom, the door closing neatly behind her. The door to the bathroom opened a few minutes later and she stepped out in black pants and a white blouse, the wrists unbuttoned and pulled up past her forearms, her hair fixed as well. Squall looked at her a few moments as she stood in the doorway then had to turn his head away stifling a laugh. Fujin, being Fujin, immediately jumped to a conclusion and taking a few long strides in form obviously intended for less peaceful moments cracked him upside the head with her fist. As he sprawled on the ground hands on his head he was still chuckling.

"MOCKING!?" she growled as Squall held up a hand to pause her fist as he composed himself back to a semblance of his normal stoicism.

"You were the spitting image of my grade school proctor." He said with all seriousness as Fujin just glare a few moments. Then, standing up straight fist atop her hand she made a sharp motion with her wrist like she was swinging something and glared right at him with a dissatisfied look.

"Attention!" She said sternly, taking all her self control to hold her seriousness until she saw his reaction which was more or less immediate. He fell back over laughing again, after she gave a moment as he regained his composure and looked up at her with a grin she returned, sharing in what was sure to become a private joke.

The day began as simply as most classes went quite smoothly. Fujin was in the middle of a lesson, observing students as they attempted to junction status magic. Some were better at it than others. She smiled as her favorite pupil stood ready. Among the first done, Along with the three she had affectionately dubbed one two and three as she never saw them apart. She freely associated them now with the old posse, especially the little blond, he was already pretty tall, chances he would be a monster, she could see it. Daniel was his name and he had a knack for combat from what Zell had told her, he had aspirations toward the Gunblade, modeling himself after Squall. He openly preached about leading Garden in the future. Cute now, but he'd be a problem in no time. The current disciplinary committee was already scouting members looking to expand, four just wasn't enough. She knew who she'd draw their attention to. However going back to the lesson she drew the classes attention as she asked them to demonstrate the status ailment a single attack against her. Good marks as she expected all around, though last as expected came Karin she paused watching and motioned her forward. Waiting for the feeling of a spell failing to tell her she had been hit as she thought ahead. Tonight she was having a meeting to discuss her progress within Garden. This meeting well could put her in the green. She smiled to herself as the class went to end and she dismissed the students, not one had failed to junction properly. She smiled to herself, She anticipated good results.

She appeared outside the new meeting room straightening her tails of her formal instructor's uniform making sure she presented the best front possible, she's even taken the time to throughly clean her eye patch. If that didn't tell you she was nervous than the light dusting of makeup would immediately. This meeting could set a final date on her punishment and let her live at least a life of semi normalcy, though she accepted she'd likely remain permanently attached to Garden. She could accept that. The door opened a moment later a faculty member stepped out of the doorway and she entered with a nod to them, knowing first hand that attempting to figure out the gender of them was a pointless exercise, she was met by a table formal attire abounded Selphie, Quistis, Squall, Irvine, and a new face, a mousy woman wearing thick glasses her red hair bobbed into a little fluff. She didn't look like much but looks were often deceiving. She moved to the open chair at the circular table. After a moment of people shuffling papers Squall began to speak in his formal tone.

"Fujin, After the designated period this group has reconvened to reassess your position in the world. First I would like to introduce the headmistress of the newly opened Esthar Garden, Chihiro. Under request of Prime Minister Laguna. She was a member of the strike force that assisted in the cleanup and is representing Esthar in these proceedings." He motioned to the young looking woman who smiled demurely and nodded her head. Squall motioned around the table after allowing her a moment and the indicated gave silent greetings in their own ways. Irvine who made a motion of tipping a hat. Quistis who nodded with a smile, Selphie pounced on the end of her nod to wave swiftly and smile, still too much energy. Fujin looked back with a nod trying to seem much more confident than her thumping heart would lead one to believe.

"In opening, lets take note of her so far exemplary teaching record. She is a favorite amongst many students, Her work has been exemplar, test grades in her area have risen, and she has instilled a higher amount of discipline in the students while maintaining autonomy. On the other hand she is noted being distant from her peers, though whether this is a fault of her style of interaction or an aversion to her is partially unclear. Quistis, your observations?".

Quistis straightened her glasses and lifted a sheet scanned it for a moment and spoke clearly, "her social distance seems to be a combination of her natural briefness and a certain aversion of the other staff. She, for her part, does not make much effort to create more than an acquaintanceship with most of her peers. I do observe that her severity does also extend to her relationships making her somewhat unapproachable to many people who feel intimidated by her status and her brusqueness. Those are all the pertinent observations. Anything to add?" She asked and Selphie raised her hand briefly, then seemingly after a moment of thought put it down, Irvine spoke softly his voice carried a slight drawl that made Selphie smile covertly eyes half closed. Fujin rolled her eyes, well talk about making something obvious... in any event she zoned into what the pretty boy was saying.

"...Known her least and not at all afore her betrayal in the first place I think that I and Chihiro should have the most say in this. Seeing as we have the most objective viewpoints. Do you agree Squall?" He said, well at least he had a brain between his ears. Squall thought a moment visibly and then turned back toward him and nodded.

"I agree, proceed headmaster." Squall said in his official tone, letting everyone know he was listening carefully. A few moments later Irvine continued his point.

"I think that her punishment will mean that her debt is unlikely to ever be paid off, seeing as the sheer numbers involved. I propose she take the SeeD test and prepare for active duty. The pay is much higher and she will be forced into the same situations that she caused for so many others. Her loyalty is more or less unquestionable, after all, she betrayed almost every nation on the planet over a sense of loyalty, I do not believe she will desert during a mission regardless of the personal cost. So in summery, I think she should do the job we did." The board was silence and Fujin was looking at the cowboy a little cockeyed not sure what to make of his declaration. Well it did mean she might eventually be free of her crushing debt, at least by the time she meets the worms. Well, why not Fujin sat up straighter and Squall homed into her like a heat seeking missile to a bonfire.

"Yes Fujin?" he asked curtly, her response was as brief. "ACCEPT." The others assembled spent a few moments mulling over whether that was a declaration or an order. Squall however beat them to the point having seen that answer a mile away.

"your examination will be at the next set until such time you are to resume your duties as normal. Does the board agree?" He asked with a withering glance, the same that earned him the covert nickname of "ice prince" No one, however, felt the desire to argue with his declaration.

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A/N: Well this took all together too long. Whoever said that writing is easy is messed in the head. Anyway, there are few times I miss having no friends but it meant that my writing didn't get neglected as often..... well anyway here is the next chapter, heading toward a slightly different bent in the story. still winding up. Thanks for reading R&R!


	27. Doublestrike

Disclaimer: standard, still do not have the rights to FFVIII. so no foreseeable sequel

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Time had passed swiftly, it was no surprise Fujin did more than exemplary on all her examinations, she had been a good student while at Garden and had become only better with Galbanian military conditioning while traveling with their army. Her medium range combat style made her a dangerous opponent to many SeeD even, who mostly favored close range. So she had a leg up, true but few could boast of skills like hers. In her free time they had given her back her GF and in the spare moments when she hadn't been people watching she was more often then not found in the training center doing things with spells that were far above basic levels, better even than many, anyone could aim an Aero spell, few could use it to grab and return an item from a dozen feet away. Magic was her specialty it seemed. She was also quite intelligent and had more than a passing mastery with anatomy she used to great effect with her Sai attack, as she called it, capable of weakening an enemy, leaving them at Death's doorstep.

There will always be problem areas though, she chafed and argued with her allies on many decisions entering a near fury if it proved to be problematic in the least when a solution other than hers was chosen, admittedly she never defied orders, nor directly opposed her commander but it was a slowly escalating trend. Dangerous if left unchecked, though no one seemed to be able to do that at all. Squall has spent more than a little time balancing this against her strengths, but sooner or later the scales would tip one way or the other. Too bad nothing could really be said definitely until it might already be too late. All the same she was in for the pre-Final test, acquiring a GF. Zell was sent as the SeeD operative in charge, figuring that his close range specialization would complement her most likely weakness if she was to fall into trouble at any point. At this point all that was left to do was wait, they had traveled to a cave network in Centra where their sensors indicated a new GF had emerged. The Howling caves, interesting place but should not present much trouble.

-X-X-X

Fujin was dressed in her normal clothes though anyone looking at her would notice something beneath her armor, it was a Hardened Body Glove, only a Veteran SeeD was likely to be able to tell that there was anything other than an optical illusion happening. Zell, as normal was oblivious as he warmed up somewhat acrobatically in the grounds outside the Howling Caverns. He was waiting for his "student" though she could hardly be called such. She arrived in the middle of his Kata prompting him to ignore her until it was done. She took a deep breath watching him, it was always a strange mix of emotions to see him in SeeD official dress, no one in a suit should be able to do the combat acrobatics he displayed on a regular basis. She walked up as the routine came to an end and she cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. He took a moment and turned with a smile.

"Heya! Ready to go?" He asked watching her out the corner of his eye as he turned his head toward the entrance where a pair of Garden Faculty members waited patiently. Zell mumbled something about automatons and Fujin smirked to herself. As they approached the Garden faculty members spoke first.

"Who is seeking entrance?" They asked in a way that sounded like a statement, confusingly.

"FUJIN KUROSAKI." she stated with a long buried force of voice unsurprisingly, neither member showed any sign of emotion.

"And who will be accompanying?" One of them turned his head a full _three inches, (wow)_ to look at Zell, who stood up straight and spoke in the sort of calm and controlled tone that anyone who knew him well would suspect he didn't actually possess. Regardless, Speak loud and clearly he did.

"SeeD Instructor Zell Dicht Accompanying." The Garden faculty nodded noticeably then turned back to Fujin.

"Please choose a time limit that reflects your skills." She was then offered a small piece of paper and a punch card Fujin glanced at the card a moment checking everything, then punched out the lowest amount of time. Ten minutes, as it turned out. Handing the sheet back to them they turned aside and unblocked the entrance to the cavern, not that they were really blocking the wide mouth of the cave at all anyway.

"Proceed, the timer starts.... now." The one said clicking a small stopwatch with one hand and handing it to Zell. Fujin took off at a jog into the cavern eye open and ready as Zell came in behind without saying a word. Fujin had to admit to herself, she was rather interested about what sort of creatures such a cave system held. She did not have long to wonder, about a minute into the dark, the howling picked up, like a low moan that whistled on occasion and sometimes squalled hard from one side or another. The place was absolutely littered with close knit stalactites and little side paths which allowed the omnipresent wind to roar through the junctions. Carried on these hard gusts were creatures, fast moving ones at that, they were Windsurfers, something like a cross between a monkey and a bat they were swift as the wind and tough enough to headfirst a wall at seventy miles an hour and be not only fine but whip around for another go, as was their style of assault. The first to attack however was not expecting what it got, for it made a mistake no sentient thing would, it attacked the one wearing gauntlets first. It's shrieking battle cry resounded off the walls even as Fujin spun Zell was already in motion, he had ducked in a split second and lashed up with a boot catching the think in the tail, a little late, but the things were small and fast, that kick though was enough to send it spiraling out of control and to the ground, skidding even as it tried to find it's bearing.

"oops...." he said looking over at the small creature, scratching the back of his head. Fujin chuckled, it was hard not to seeing someone being that distraught over hitting something that attacked them, he looked guiltily at the small monkey that climbed into the stalactites gibbering in pain. The fliers stayed well clear for now. Fujin smiled to herself and Zell spread his hands out lifting the middle finger and turning in a slow circle.

"gonna have to add "king of the apes" to my list of battle honors." He said with a flex, Fujin raised her hand and lowered her face resting her forehead on her palm with a sigh.

"APE." she said casting a glare between her fingers and turned walking down the path into the wind. Zell sighed slumping forward and then stood up and jogged after her. Well, some people would have been impressed. He caught up shortly, after all he had a rather prodigious land speed. Advancing there were sounds mostly of rushing wind along with the cold air from beneath the earth in the rushing wind of the caves, as yet for an unknown reason. The downward trend took them eventually to an immense chamber with eroded holes making the room a giant honeycomb of earthen lacuna. There the wind rushed buffeting them from every angle, it was obvious that Zell was not comfortable here his eyes darting as his head turned always meeting a gust in his eyes that had his eyes watering and squinting. Fujin however had closed her eyes and was standing still, listening to the whistling song of the depths, admittedly they were on a time limit but some things deserved attention. Then the sound came, like a voice from every side, to her credit she merely flinched at the screeching voice like an enraged child blended into the screeching of twisting steel sending vicious shivers down the spine and grating pain across the mind. Zell however had a look of concentration on his face crouched in a battle ready posture prepared to engage the enemy from any angle shielded eyes looking around for any sign of movement.

"WhO InTruDES in MY DoMAin!?" The voice oscillated out from it's huge volume into an alluring and indeed beautiful voice before screeching back into volumes painful to all but the deaf. The being revealed itself, a hollow form like a billowing dress whipped around the thing along with it's grave matted hair it's eyes singular burning pits of smoldering rage and sorrow, it's hands ending in claws nearly a foot long each adding to the obviously once lovely creature before them, it's howling voice echoing as the winds swirled about it violently seemingly in tandem with the violence of the wind about them. The being swept a hand and the wind seemed to form a howling swirl like a whirlwind horizontally that stabbed out in a violent point toward them menacingly. Any well trained warrior knew what to do when an enemy sent anything your way, get out of the way. Both dodged to opposite sides as the vortex gouged a divot in the granite floors of the cave.

"Well that was a good decision...." muttered Zell over his shoulder as he looked at the end of the attack, well at least they knew what to look for this time. He rolled backward kicking his legs up and rolling into a crouch with a backward somersault, legs set one hand down ready to move. This action was well worth the effort as he was immediately forced into a side roll as a shimmering blade visible only by its aftereffects came roaring at him a veritable hurricane twisting into a long vortex at it's center that looked more than a little ominous, he had seen what a vacuum could do to skin, the impact of the assault smashed into the ground ripping a massive gouge through the earth leaving a wickedly long scar across the surface of the cave, changing the tune of the whistles ever so slightly making the peaceful tune that much more forceful and vile, almost to the point of malice, though that may be the howling undead looking thing in the center of the room. Fujin though had time to analyze now watch the attacks, they all seemed to come fro the hands and mouth. It telegraphed it's movements rather well easy to notice where it was going to strike as it turned to face it's target, she waited and as it continued its attack on Zell with a bubble of hyper compressed air that left an indent on the floor where it struck. She cast a spell on herself she lined up a spell, launching a heavy shot of lightning leaping from her fingertips through the floating GF the entire form of the creature wracked and writhed riding energy as it whipped through her body jumping fro her hair and feet to the rocks arching across her sharpened teeth and causing smoke to rise from inside her eyes sockets.

This attack gave Zell enough time to find his feet and close quickly giving the GF only moments before the impact of a heavily augmented fist. The being's eyes whipped into startled focus and a clawed hand rose not aimed at the fist that veritably glowed with enhancement but instead the blades struck deep in his wrist the speed of the attack whipping by even his schooled defenses and leaving a bloody tattered gash in his arm as he was sent into a side spin, not one to be denied even by the startling strength of the blow used the twisting momentum to twist himself into a circular spin sending a heavy heel whipping into the shoulder of the beast sending it rocketing to the wall.

The impact unleashed a hellish screech from the ghastly form sending both Fujin and Zell screaming to the floor as blood flowed from one of Fujin's ears as an eardrum ruptured. In the meantime the creature floated back off the ground back near the wall with both opponents in view and arched it's back, head tilting back and then let loose another shattering screech though this one so powerful that Zell lost his footing as it washed over him and Fujin's remaining eye felt like it was vibrating her entire chest thrumming with vibration and pain.

The two SeeD fell to the ground and the ghastly form floated into the air over Fujin looking down on her with a grisly smirk. Fujin muttered under her breath her eyes closed as the wailing horror raised a hand to land a crushing blow, the claw descended only to be blocked by another deformed appendage, this one of slightly more familiar twisted being.

GF against GF Diablos paused it's opponents attack and gave a new sweep of a tail as it raised a clawed foot and kicked back the unnatural being even as the terrain flushed away to an endless darkness as the horror rolled to a halt and began to stand. High above the GF Diablos drew in the swarm of shadowed fliers coalescing into the orb that was the hallmark of it's Dark Messenger.

Even as the massive ball descended the gaunt female form began to scream before suffering the super compression of the relayed message flatening and distorting its form as the gravity of its assault lay upon the howling horror's shoulders leaving it huffing and sobbing on the ground in pain as the whistling caverns rematerialized around it slowly bleeding back into real space. The recovered and ready pair began their attack anew. This new salvo of aggression began with a set of spells from the enhanced Fujin who drew forth two spells and cast them in conjunction. A Meltdown and Firaga spell the Meltdown compressing the fiery explosion into a shaft of screaming flames.

This was something Fujin had been working on for some time, she called it a Puncture Bolt for the simple reason that that was exactly what it did. The blazing missile impacted the GF hard in the midsection burning a hole clear through the being even as it stood to fight. Black tears staining its face began anew as the roaring pain from the instantly blazed and cauterized hole simmered in the middle of it's form it did not possess the will to counter. Zell, to his credit, finally was able to lay into the being again this time pulling a full four hit combination against the being. Scoring a punch to it's hip bending it off its guard, followed immediately with the other fist to it's gut to put it's head in range for the next stage. He swung a harsh kick toward its head with a spun laying the momentum laden heel onto its shoulder to set the stage for the final blow of the combination. He used that leg as a fulcrum to pull the other leg across this time in a heel to the temple that cast the being to the floor as it howled it's displeasure.

He swiftly broke as they landed and tried to escape, though this time he caught a slightly unexpected attack, the thing should hardly have been thinking clearly but none the less Fujin yelled something into the wind but all he could see was the movement of her mouth as the word seemed to flow in slow motion...

D...U...CK... The meaning flashed into his mind right as the pain exploded between his shoulders the compressed air bubble slamming into his back with the force as great as his hardest punch knocking the air fro his lungs and brought flecks of blood to his lips as he was lifted and throws a good five meters before plungeing to the earth writhing in the wracking pain of the blow, effectively decommissioned as the assault left him barely able to do more than writhe in pain.

The being floated back into the air even as combat joined again minus a combatant, the two squared off The burning pits in the face of the scorched GF clashed with the inky black ichor of it's oozing head wound. Fujin herself was looking a little scuffed up, blood from her ear trickled in a crusty line down the side of her head accompanied by the red twinge to her vision that had nothing to do with anger and everything to do with a ruptured blood vessel. They faced one another down, and even as the being arched it's back to loose another hellish scream Fujin mixed a pair of spells and cast them with the sort of speed that only practice and the gifts of Pandemonia can bring, Even as the screech began to bounce off the walls the fire engulfed the enemy the red angry flames lanced through with a toxic blackness that burned into a thick black smoke. The Banshee's voice caught in it's dried and burning ruptured through as its vision closed in on it and what felt to be liquid fire oozed through it's veins as it began the same pained, silent writhing that Zell was only just recovering from. Fujin walked forward, unhurried and planted her combat boot right on the creatures throat pinning it's head and leaned in.

"Join Me." She said in voice barely discernible above the Din and the being opened it's eyes the smoldering pits gone leaving only dark blackness and Fujin held out a hand laying it on the withered breast of the defeated GF and with practiced ability triggered her Draw, and unsurprisingly the being grew faint for a moment a visage of it's form pulled from it's body into her hand as the true form slowly faded the soft singing voice echoed through the suddenly calm and musical caverns.

"I Accept......" slowly lost on the cool winds as Zell punched in the end codes into his portable communicator signaling the time. He looked down at it and smirked looking up at her even as his glowing palm unleashed a cure spell to help him stand and breath a little easier speaking as he cast one to her.

-X-X-X

They had been walking in silence back toward the garden, Fujin was more than a little happy with herself after her good show and strong 'Force to show for it. Though she was so lost in thought that she completely missed that Zellhad started to talk to her animatedly and she caught him mid sentence with what he was going on about hoping her lapse of attention could be made up by feigning knowledge.

"...That thing you did with the pain and fire spells, that was hella cool. I didn't know you could even do that with a double spell... By the way how did you do that, I could always only use it to cast the same spell multiple times, not that that isn't a damn good way to use it, but still, what's the trick?!" he asked in that way that was both reassuringly jumpy and frighteningly quick to pick up on things, no matter how much of a fool he made himself to seem he was as sharp as the Lionheart when he put his mind to it...

"SECRET" She said with the cool finality of a veteran disciplinary member. Zell actually stopped walking for a moment looking at her with an expression somewhere between irritation and complete disapproval, all in all, it made for a very impressive glare that she returned just as harshly leading to a good thirty seconds of them gazing impetuously at one another before Zell shrugged without breaking eye contact and grinned.

"I'll pick it up from Squall later, after all he'll get it out of you after he reads my PAR..." He said with that cocky grin that had driven a certain blond gunblader right up the wall. She blinked and her head dropped, she had completely forgotten about the Post Action Reports, lovely, well secret's out and in Garden's hands. She'd be lucky if they named the technique after her. She returned to glaring at the tattooed blond but he knew he'd one, he had seen the defeat and threw his hands behind his head and began to _stroll_, her teeth met with an audible click of irritation, damnable ranking officers.....

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A/N: Decided to finally run a little more combat as that seems to be something some poeple really wanted. More of Zell, this time being uncomfortably smart in his responses... Well anyway, I finally got back to my atrophied and starving stories. amazing how when I finally sit down to write I have a lot pouring onto the page. wrote this in a little under two days. Next chapter at..... about 40% as well. So expect that one soon, I'll see if I can't make up a little lost time. Sorry to you all, keep reading! it makes you smarter! even if my writing and grammer are atrocious! R&R, Last Harlequin


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